I wouldn't believe if it wasn't real
by 401
Summary: People may accuse him for being insane, but for Sora Riku is real. Sora didn't need to see him to know he was there. After moving to Destiny Islands though, Sora happens to come across a very familiar Riku. But Riku doesn't know Sora at all. RikuxSora
1. Prologue

**So, this is my first story I upload here so.. Please review, I know there's a million things I have to improve but it's always easier if someone is there to lend a helping hand, hehe! I wasn't exactly sure how to rate this one, but.. I guess, better safe than sorry! I'm very eager to write more, but for the moment my dad is being.. a problem, so I'll continue tomorrow I guess! **

**Also, there will be some limes and stuff later on, just to warn you all.**

_"Sora, there's no need to be worried about your new home. Remember I'm always here with you, and I would never do anything to hurt you. So Sora, trust me. It'll be all right."_

_"I know Riku. I trust you."_

People say that I'm just sick, but they're wrong. They say my Riku isn't real, they say he's someone who doesn't exist, but they're wrong. I know they are. My Riku _is_ real. I can hear him talking to me, I can feel he's always with me. I can't see him but I know he's there. I can picture exactly how he would look like; beautiful, long silver hair, aquamarine eyes and a perfect body. And just because he is someone only I know about.. it doesn't mean he isn't real. Just like what my grandma said when my parents died when I was five; "Just think of them, and you will know they're alive, somewhere in your world they will always be there with you."

At first I didn't really understand the meaning of someone _dying_. I mean, I was five, and things like death weren't really discussed at home or school. It just... back then, there wasn't even such thing as death, for the five-years-old past me. Then slowly, as I started to understand what death was and I thought about what my grandmother said, I honestly found it very stupid. I knew mom and dad wouldn't be alive, no matter how hard I tried to think of them. But then suddenly, when I was around the age of twelve, Riku was there. I had never felt alone in my life, even though I never really _had_ anyone, but I guess there's a time for everything. Riku was everywhere for me, and he would always make things better by just being there. I loved to just sit and chat with him, and it surprised me how, no matter what we talked about, he was always right. And he would never lie to me.

But then, my foster parents got worried about me talking to the 'empty' room. I tired to tell them about Riku but they wouldn't understand. One night when I was about to go down to the kitchen just to fetch some water, I overheard my parents talking about my Riku. Or my 'problem' as they would put it. They didn't and never would understand that Riku was a good person and he would never do anything bad to me. But still. They decided upon meeting a doctor and before I knew of the word, I got a receipt for medication and I had to meet a therapist two times a week.

The therapist, Aerith, was a really goodhearted person and she was very kind. I liked her a lot. But the bad part of this whole thing was just the medication. Because suddenly, Riku wasn't there anymore. Riku wasn't there to whisper soothing words when I was sad, Riku wasn't there to praise me when I did something good, Riku just wasn't there to be with me anymore. And that's how I learned what being alone really is. And I was so afraid that I had lost Riku, but I knew that there had to be a way to get him back. So I stopped eating the medicine; instead I would just put it in a box underneath my bed to make mom and dad believe I had taken it. And he did come back. He really did.

I knew mom and dad would turn suspicious if I began chatting with Riku in my room like I had done before, so we decided upon writing letters instead. I've saved all of them in my drawers. Unfortunately, the drama didn't end quite there. Aerith had suggested to my parents to move off to some town far away, because she said these surroundings might hold some very negative past feelings for me. It is true though; I couldn't say I was exactly cheerful when I sometimes happened to pass the street where my parents had died in a car crash. But I didn't really think Traverse Town was _that_ bad of a place for me. In any case, my parents were more than convinced and wanted to do anything to give me a 'normal life'. That's why, tonight, is my last day in Traverse Town. Tomorrow at this time, you'll be finding me at Destiny Islands.

_"Riku, I've been thinking a lot about you lately.. Like, what it would be like if I could see you and all.."_

_"Do you want to see me for real, Sora?"_

_"Of course, I'd do anything for that, Riku. I thought you knew."_

_"Then I will promise you that some day I will show myself to you. Maybe it'll be sooner than you think.."_


	2. Chapter 1

If I had been any nervous earlier today about what Destiny Islands would be like, then all my worries were far gone by now. We were still on the ferry, but I could clearly see the island now. It was like, far better than I had even dared to wish.

It was like one of those pretty islands you see on post cards; I didn't even think I would be headed to one of those places. I could imagine how I would spend countless hours at the beach with golden sand and clear water, maybe climb around in the green trees and, you know, for once really do something else but sitting in my room. No way I would be idling indoors, not in a place like this. I was getting really excited about getting to know the people on the island, too.

Our house was located not too far away from the beach, which gave us a nice view over the ocean. Or more like, gave _me_, since I was the one insisting to get the room with a big window towards the sea. Well, maybe I am a bit stubborn sometimes, but it's not really my fault people give in so easily. The air was a bit wet and really warm and I supposed it would take a while to adjust to it. My mom seemed to like the place a lot too, as she walked around inspecting the house with a pleased smile.

I left my parents wondering about the new house and went to get my boxes. I decided to start unpacking right away, so I could go outside as soon as possible. But, I didn't last for too long, since I have this habit of getting all excited _very_ quickly.

So, eager as I was, I only managed to spend a few hours unpacking things before I was outside exploring the island. I hadn't gotten very far before I met a girl with brown hair walking down the beach next to a blond guy.

"Hi there!" the girl said cheerfully and waved her hand "You new here? I haven't seen you around before."

"Yeah, sort of just arrived here. I used to live in Traverse Town", I replied.

"Really? You're from Traverse Town? Cool! Well, nice to meet you, my name is Selphie and this-" she gestured towards the boy next to her "- is my friend Tidus."

Tidus offered me a small smile and waved his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Sora." I wanted to say something more but I couldn't think of anything, so I ended up just grinning sheepishly scratching the back of my head.

"So, Sora, wanna join me and Tidus at the beach? We could introduce you to some other of our friends too!"

I really hadn't expected to get such a nice welcome, but I was happy nevertheless. I mean, back at Traverse Town no one ever spoke to someone they didn't know. Everyone back there seemed so.. distant, somehow. Here, at Destiny Islands, everyone seemed to know each other and there was this nice atmosphere everywhere. I didn't miss Traverse Town for a second.

The 'other friends' turned out to be a girl named Kairi and a guy named Wakka. As soon as everyone got settled at the beach, Tidus went to play blitzball with Wakka and I ended up chatting with Kairi and Selphie. They told me about the island and traditions and stuff like that.

"So, I guess we're attending the same school then", Kairi said while she was removing her shoes and dug her bare feet into the sand.

"Yup. I'm really happy I have friends now, because going alone to a new school is always a little scary" I chuckled.

"It's not like anyone here would bite you" Selphie laughed and poked my arm. I smiled back at her and looked up at the deep blue sky. I wished I could just have stopped time right here, because things just seemed so right now. I realized I hadn't been thinking about Riku almost at all today, which was rather unusual. I guess I just hadn't had this many people around me for a long time.

The three of us watched Tidus and Wakka play in the water, although it didn't seem like blitzball anymore. The ball was forgotten somewhere along the beach and for the moment the boys seemed to be laughing very hard, Tidus trying to playfully run away from Wakka.

After a while of just sitting there, Selphie broke the silence.

"Oh, now that I remember to mention it Sora, there is one guy missing in our group for the moment, you know. He went to.. uuhh.." she began but trailed off, obviously trying to remember something.

"He was meeting relatives or something like that, I think" Kairi filled in.

"Yeah, that's right-" Selphie continued "-so anyway, his name is Riku and I guess you could say he's pretty famous in here. He's one year older than us, but you'll see him at school. Though I bet you'll have to talk to him after school unless you want his admirers to be all over you.. And he might just seem a little bit cocky at first, but he is a really nice person once you get to know him."

"Well, he does kind of have the looks, you know" Kairi said and gave me a small wink which I hardly even noticed. All I could feel was my heart suddenly beating so loudly it wasn't even funny. Riku? It couldn't really be _my_ Riku, right?

"So, um.. this Riku person.. does he have like, silver hair and.. aquamarine eyes?" I asked, suddenly feeling like an idiot. What was the chance? Like, one in a million? I wanted to slap myself in the face.

"Yeah.. wait, do you know each other already?"


	3. Chapter 2

**Uuum.. Not much to say for the moment? Hehe.. I feel there's something missing very badly in this story but I can't think of what it is.. Nuh-uh. If you have any suggestions or.. whatnot, please let me know **

**And.. No, I don't own the characters. Though I **_**did**_** wish for Axel and Roxas for Christmas!**

_(Riku's p.o.v.)_

I don't see the big reason why my parents always insist me to join them meeting relatives. Usually, like for example now, I could really care less about meeting them. I'm seeing my relatives more frequently than my own friends for god's sake. Well, almost. At least I have Kadaji to chat with just to pass time. We aren't really that close but hey, gotta find some way to survive these meetings. And besides, we are both in the same boat. I think Kadaji is about just as eager as I am to be here.

So we eat dinner, the adults have a deadly serious discussion about that famous singer who doesn't take proper care of her kids, we drink some coffee and there's more useless chatting, and then, finally, comes the saying 'goodbye'. Whew, I really wish my parents would leave me alone someday. Well, I'm seventeen now, so like hell I'm attending these meetings next year when I'm eighteen. Fuck yeah, I'm going to be a lazy bastard and only do things I want to do. That sounds very nice, indeed.

When we got home I was welcomed with a '2 missed calls' on my cellphone (which I managed to forget at home, thank you very much.) Kairi, both. I wonder what those guys were doing today? Probably hanging at the beach or gone shopping. Damn bastards. I wanted to go, too.

So anyway, I called Kairi, suddenly feeling a little curious about what she had to say. I was getting slightly impatient at the beeping and was about to scream 'Answer the fucking phone Kairi!' when she finally picked up.

"Kairi." a girlish voice said.

"Hi Kairi, I noticed you had tired to call me.. Sorry, I kind of forgot my phone at home."

"Well good thing you're at home now. I bet you weren't having a very great time after all? Anyway, I wanted to ask if you happen to know a brunette called Sora? He's.. the new boy here on the island. Have you possibly met him earlier today?"

"Err.. brunette?.. Sora? No, I haven't met anyone but my relatives today, Kairi. What makes you think I've met him?"

I tried to sound casual, as if I could care less, but hell I was curious. I didn't know why; I mean, there's a lot of people who know me, because I really am kind of famous. But I didn't think I was famous enough for people to know about me even though they weren't from the islands? Well, I guess that's a good thing.

"Well, Selphie mentioned you while we were chatting on the beach and then Sora asked if 'this Riku' has silver hair and aquamarine eyes.. I mean, we were a bit surprised and asked him whether you already knew each other, but Sora just sat there and looked like he'd suddenly been dropped on mars. Then his mom showed up and he just ran away with a quick 'goodbye'. So I guess I was kind of curious to know if something happened between you two.."

Whoa, I didn't know I had a that kind of influence on people. But seriously, now I really wanted to know who Sora was. This _did_ seem pretty interesting.

"Okay, but really.. I don't know any Sora guy, I'm completely positive. But I would like to meet him some day. Assuming he isn't some kind of scary stalker.."

"Sora? _Scary_ stalker? No way, Riku!" Kairi giggled. "No way that boy would be a stalker. I can tell you he's pretty clueless, but that only makes him cuter."

Cuter? How old is that boy? 'Cause Kairi sure makes it sound like he was twelve or something.

"But, I guess you'll see for yourself tomorrow at school. I hope we would have some classes together!"

I feel like someone's kind of.. reading my mind.

"Yeah well, I guess it's the first time I'm actually somewhat eager to go to school.. It's not like something like this happens every day." And no, I don't like school. I know it's important but I don't like it.

"Mm, that's true. Well, see you tomorrow then, Ri-ku!"

"Night, Kairi."

And so that leaves me a head full of questions and I'm supposed to go to sleep. The thought of lying in bed just tossing around wasn't very inviting, so I decided to take a long shower before I went to bed. And afterwards.. No, I didn't get any sleep, in case you wondered. After a while of lying there, eyes wide open staring at the roof, I got up and turned on my computer. I've been convincing myself for a long time that it's time to buy a new one, but somehow that day never seems to arrive. I got pissed because the goddamn startup took forever, and when it was finally ready, I didn't know what the hell I would do.

So for a while I just sat there, staring at my computer screen, until I just started browsing random sites. At 11:30pm I finally shut down the lame excuse for a computer and went back to bed. I closed my eyes and decided upon not opening them no matter what. It's the easiest way to get sleep no matter how hyper you are. But it might require some patience.

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(Sora's p.o.v.)

I don't think I've ever been this eager to see my mom. I wanted to ask Kairi and Selphie more about this Riku person, but suddenly everything felt just so _off_. Somehow just.. I had expected to see Riku some day, I mean, he even promised me. But here? On Destiny Islands? And besides, of course it could be just coincidence.. I mean about the looks. Right?

I really need to find out, 'cause this is making me nervous.

So I went back to the house with my mom and then straight to my room. I sat down on the floor and waited. And waited. Where the hell was Riku? I couldn't sense him around at all. I tried to whisper his name a few times, but I got no answer.

This whole situation was about to make me freak out, so I decided to distract myself by unpacking things again. By evening, my room was all furnitured. I laid down on the bed, wondering wether I should try writing something to Riku instead, but my eyelids felt heavy as ever so I decided I'd just pass for today. I went to brush my teeth, which took longer than I expected, because I was spacing out like every two seconds leaving me with a toothbrush hanging uselessly out of my mouth. But once back in bed, it didn't take me long to fall into dreamland.

Next morning I woke up to the sound of someone walking around in the kitchen. I looked at my alarm clock and realized I still had half an hour time to sleep, but I decided it wasn't worth it. Falling asleep again just to wake up twenty minutes later wasn't going to make me anything but more tired.

So, I got up and decided to use my spare time for a shower. I wondered what school would be like. Then, the thought of seeing Riku came back to my mind and it made me feel awfully anxious. I took a few deep breaths and did my best to convince myself it would turn out all right. He probably just was some sort of look-alike, and even if he really _was_ my Riku, then what? I should be happy if anything, this was supposed to be my dreams coming true. I wrapped a towel around my waist and stood in front of the mirror. I slapped myself for being such a wuss and once again told myself it would be all right.

But still. I'm no good liar, especially to myself. Despite that I already had made some friends to hang around with at school.. I was scared shitless.

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(A/N: Well this thing does seem a bit cheerful and carefree for the moment but I really was thinking of bringing a darker side to the story.. In case someone wondered X3)


	4. Chapter 3

**Okay, I have a feeling things are happening a bit too fast.. But I just wanted to bring Riku into the story first so.. yeah ; Things will slow down eventually, you'll see.**

**And as you already know, but let's just state it for the sake of.. stating it; I don't own these characters X3**

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(Riku's p.o.v)

Is it just me, or has the school been located farther away than usually? Because I felt like I had been walking for an hour, which turned out to be exactly.. 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Yes, it was a rather rare sight; me hurrying to school. Or to be perfectly honest, it wasn't the school I was so worked up about. Rather a certain boy named Sora, who had been on my mind for the past twelve hours.

I fastened my pace slightly but stopped immediately when I saw a young brunette walking out of the house near the beach, waving to someone at the window. _Sora_. It had to be him, right? Because I hadn't seen that guy before. I followed him down the street, making sure he wouldn't notice me before his house was out of sight. Somehow it didn't feel like a great idea to have his mom watch the encounter, especially since I was rather unsure how he would react.

Once we were a good few streets away from his home, I started walking a bit faster to catch him up. When he heard someone approaching he turned around, and suddenly I had a pair of the most beautiful cerulean eyes I've ever seen, staring at me. And that's how Riku forgot about his all coolness and whatnot. 'Cause I stood there staring at him too. And I _never_ stare at anyone.

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(Sora's p.o.v.)

I had a hard time deciding whether I wanted to run to school, or walk as slowly as I could without stumbling and falling over. You know, I was nervous, I told you. So either I could just try to get away with it as fast as possible, or just wuss out and pretend it wasn't there.

Unfortunately, neither option appealed to me. So I kept repeating nonsense in my head when I waved goodbye to my parents standing by the kitchen window, and began my journey towards.. well. It could be heaven or hell. I wasn't sure which one would keep me sane for a longer while. All I knew was that I had better think of something else or I wouldn't be able to recognize myself by the end of the day.

I just hoped that I'd find Selphie or Kairi or Tidus or Wakka or - just anyone - to keep me company, before I had to face Riku. You know, because it's always easier to start talking about stuff if you have someone you're safe with by your side. I wasn't nowhere close prepared to start some conversation with him, no matter what he would turn out to be like. The truth alone that he shared the same name as my Riku, was enough to make me feel awkward. Then, I heard footsteps behind me and I already felt slightly relieved since I was so sure somehow that it was Selphie coming towards me. No need to be nervous anymore, since once I had Selphie by my side, I would feel a whole lot safer. So I turned around - and remembered why I usually don't make wishes. They never come true.

There he was. I didn't have to look twice to know it was him. Riku. What else can I say? He looked exactly like I had pictured _my_ Riku alike. Long, beautiful silver hair gently hanging down on his shoulders, intense aquamarine eyes with long, dark eyelashes. And a body any guy would kill for to have. I was so lost in my thoughts of how everything was going just the way I didn't want to, that I didn't even notice he was staring at me too.

After what seemed like an eternity, I got back my voice and actually decided to try to say something.

"Uuum.. Good morning.. Riku.." I stuttered, not daring to look at him anymore. I bet I was blushing like mad by now. God, I never thought a brick wall could be so interesting. I didn't know where this was supposed to be going. Actually, I didn't even dare to imagine, in case some evil force would be reading my mind, ready to make my worst nightmares come true.

"Mornin'.. So.. I guess you're Sora then? Kairi told me about you.. I'm sorry I couldn't be there yesterday with you guys." Riku replied, sounding very calm and confident and made me feel even more like an idiot.

I could swear I had a thousand and one words swimming around in my head, but they just refused to form single sensible sentence. So I flashed him a small smile and wished for him to say something instead. Luckily he did.

"You know.. I was sort of wondering how you seem to know me already? I can't recall seeing you before.."

What? So he wasn't my Riku after all? I mean.. he should recognize me, right? After all, _he_ was the one who refused to show himself for so long, not the other way around. I started to feel as confused as a goldfish in Sahara. Just, _what?!_

"Riku? You don't.. know me? Well I.. you know.. Uh. Okay, err, may.. I ask you a few questions?"

This felt incredibly awkward for some reason, but I could care less. I wanted to find out now; I didn't want to go wondering about it all day. Riku started walking slowly towards the school, as I walked next to him.

"..Sure, go ahead."

"Is your favorite color blue?"

"Yes"

"Do you eat vanilla ice-cream with honey?"

"Yes.. occasionally.."

"Did you live in Hollow Bastion before you moved here with your mom?"

"I did, yeah.."

Riku was starting to give me uncertain glances, but I decided to ignore them and ask further.

"You sleep with your alarm clock underneath your pillow to muffle the ringing sound?"

"Yeah I do, but Sora, what the hell-"

"You love playing video games but you don't want to tell anyone, right? And you prefer boys over-"

That's how far I got until I sudden force shoved me up against the wall and I found a pair of aquamarine eyes looking straight at me through narrowed eyelids. Riku grabbed the collar of my shirt and pushed me even harder against the wall. Suddenly, I had a very, _very_ bad feeling about this.

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(Riku's p.o.v.)

Saying that I was pissed would have been an insulting understatement. I can't remember I would ever have been so fucking furious in my life._ Who_ was this boy? And why the _fuck_ did he know things about me I hadn't ever told anyone? Was it really possible to read someone's mind? Because I haven't ever believed in any supernatural shit, but I couldn't find a sane explanation for this.

"Sora, you're telling me this fucking second, what the _fuck_ is going on and why the _hell_ you know these things about me." I hissed to him, not letting my gaze wander off his eyes. This guy had better feel lucky he looked all cute and innocent, because if it had been anyone else, I wouldn't have hesitated to beat the living shit out of that person.

"Y-you told me" came the reply.

"Told you?! _I_ told you??! How many times do I have to say I've never freaking met you before in my entire life, and even if I had, I would _never_ have told you those things anyway!" I pretty much shouted at him this time.

Sora looked like he had seen a ghost; his face was pale and I could feel him tremble slightly in my grip. Serves him right. And no, I don't have any sadistic personality disorder, I'm just beyond pissed and I want something to make up for it. It didn't seem like he would be able to even speak anymore, so I let him go and gave him my infamous 'Riku's-glare-of-death' before I left him slumped down against the wall. With the fury still nagging inside me, I continued towards the school building.

If concentrating at the lessons ever was hard before, today it was_impossible_. Every time someone talked to me or even tired to just stay close to me, I wanted to tell them to get the fuck out of my sight and punch them right up in the face.

And the worst part of this is that I'm not even sure whom I should blame. Selphie couldn't have told those things to Sora because she doesn't even know half of them. The truth that I am gay, for example. I haven't told anyone about that, and I've made a point to never let it show either.

But back to the point, how the hell can I blame Sora either? I mean, fuck yeah, he was the one who just suddenly started with something equally scary as mind-reading, but why, _why_ did he look so.. _surprised_? As if he really _had_ expected me to know him.

Exactly what part of this unwritten story am I missing?

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(A/N: Alas, all the good things must have end! School starts tomorrow again ;; But it will not keep me from updating this story! .. For now, at least XD)


	5. Chapter 4

**Okay, this chapter is a little more Riku-centered but oh well.. XD**

**A huge thank-you-so-much-I-can't-put-it-into-words to my reviewers PhinMaginONLY and Ichiemay, and of course everyone else who read and faved this story too! I love you all!! Really, because today hadn't been an exactly nice day until I read your reviews and suddenly I felt all happy and fuzzy and warm inside and so on.. 8D You all make my day!**

_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

If I ever would have even been able to _imagine_ Riku would react like _that_, I wouldn't have even greeted him in the first place. Sure I had been through scary things in my life, but this encounter just beat them all.

I hadn't for a second considered Riku wouldn't recognize me. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind. But I'm sure, he _has_to be my Riku. Because he said all those things were true, they looked alike, and his voice was exactly the same. But why, _why_ didn't he recognize me?

After a while of sitting there leaning against the red brick wall, breathing heavily, I got up and realized I would be late for school if I didn't hurry. So, I looked a few times around me to make sure Riku was nowhere to be seen, and sped up towards the school. Thankfully _everything_ wasn't plotting against me today, because I made it just in time for the first lesson, English.

I sat down at the back of the class, close to a big window. Outside you could see people walk on the streets, each person heading towards whatever destination of their own. Each person, living the life of their own. I liked to sit next to a window because that way, if lesson became overwhelmingly boring, I could always sit and watch random people. It was sort of fun to make up lives for every one of them. For example, that red haired guy could be.. maybe a photographer? And right now he was headed.. home, yes, he would go home to take a short nap before it was time to get to work again. And so on.

I didn't know any of the students in the classroom, until Kairi arrived, walking into the classroom at the same time as our teacher. She was wearing some pink dress that seemed to be several sizes too small and her hair was loosely tied back. Kairi hurried over to the empty seat next to me as soon as she caught sight of me, and greeted me a with small smile and a "Hi."

Halfway through class I realized I had no clue what the teacher, Cloud, was talking about. Yes, it was my fault. No, I hadn't listened to a single word since he started the lesson. But I had more important things on my mind. Like, for example, whatever was going to happen between me and Riku next. I mean, I wanted to stay friends with Kairi, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka.. but if they were going to hang around with Riku, which they probably would, then my situation wasn't looking very bright.

What am I supposed to tell them? To tell _Riku_? I wondered if I should ask Kairi, but threw away the idea as I feared she would react like Riku had. After a lot of pondering, I concluded to let Riku decide where this was going. Of course, I wasn't planning to give up just like that, whatever situation we were in, but at least he could make the first move. Maybe I could just play along and see what it comes to.

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_(Riku's p.o.v.)_

Lunch break. Usually this was the best part of the day, but just today I could have done anything to skip this part. It would be freaking awkward to say at least having me and Sora hanging in the same group of friends. I didn't want another fight to start between us at lunch with all these people around. Yes, I was hungry like hell, but I didn't feel like eating because I felt like I had swallowed a huge fucking rock. Why? Because there is a certain brunette that has invaded my head and stubbornly refuses to get the fuck out. Not literary, of course.

And whatever reason I had slammed him against the wall for, I regretted it now. Because I would go crazy if I didn't get some answers soon, but I had the feeling Sora wouldn't be very eager to see me again. More like, I thought he would avoid me like the plague. If this certain brunette wouldn't happen to be Sora, I don't think I would have much difficulties just apologizing casually and proceeding with asking a few questions.

But for some unknown reason, the mere truth that this 'certain brunette'_ was_ Sora, made it ridiculously hard to apologize and move on. Maybe the whole thing was scaring me a lot more than I thought. I mean, him knowing all those things about me. It didn't even think Sora could be just randomly guessing, no, because the last things he said were more like statements than questions. As if he really knew me.

In lack of better plans on what to do, I started looking for Kairi, hoping that she would help me with this situation. Now that I thought about it; Kairi really was surprisingly good with people. She seemed to know what to do in all kinds of situations, and I suddenly felt endlessly thankful for having such a great friend.

Unfortunately, as I spotted her in the crowd of people at the lockers, she wasn't alone. Nope, there he was, the 'certain brunette' who had messed up my entire day in a matter of minutes. As if things weren't already bad enough, Kairi noticed me, and seemed to be completely unaware of the situation between me and Sora. She happily waved to me and grabbed Sora's wrist and started to drag him along with her.

And once again, I found myself staring at him. I couldn't believe he was actually only one year younger than me, because he looked like he really _was_ twelve or something. But it was just as Kairi had said over the phone the previous day; he was cute. He was so goddamn fucking adorably _cute_ that it wasn't even funny. But still, he scared me. As well as I seemed to scare him, because once he noticed me, he stopped. He stood there for a few brief seconds, his gaze locked onto mine. But then, he wriggled out of Kairi's grip, said something to her and started walking in the opposite direction.

Kairi looked after him a bit confused, but eventually turned around and approached me. She wasn't smiling anymore like she had been when Sora was around, but thankfully she didn't look very angry either. Maybe Sora hadn't told her yet about this morning?

"Seems like you met Sora already." She said, sounding more like she wanted some explanation rather than a simple 'yes'.

"So.. I assume Sora hasn't told you anything?" I asked, hoping that he actually had. Somehow I didn't feel like repeating those scenes in my head.

"Nope. All he said was that he didn't think you would want him to hang you around and that he had better go."

Great. Sora hadn't even hinted Kairi about what happened. So all the explaining was up to me now, right? Great.

"Mind telling me what's going on?" Kairi tried again.

I sighed, trying not to worry about this so much. Sora was just one boy out of all boys in the world; what the hell was I getting so worked up about? I gestured Kairi to follow me to a quieter place, happening to be a bench outside in the school yard.

"Kairi, I'm not sure if you're going to believe me, and honestly, I'm not really sure if I still can believe this myself, but.. Well, here's the story: when I was walking to school this morning, I happened to meet Sora on the way. So, I thought I'd catch him up and ask him how came he seemed to know me because I can't remember meeting him before. Then he told me he wanted to ask me some questions, and sure, I didn't mind.."

I stopped for a few seconds, trying to think of how I should put all these things.

"..at least that's what I thought at first. But you know.. he just.. the things he asked, were just.. you know, he seems to know pretty many private things about me. I mean, like, things I've never told _anyone_. But he just stood there, suddenly not sounding like he was _asking_ but rather _stating_ things about me.."

"And you did what?"

"Well I sort of lost it and slammed him against the wall and started shouting at him. I know - it's wrong, I shouldn't have done that and I really regret it. Man, I'm sure he's rather afraid of me now. But you know, I just couldn't help it, I didn't have time to think. It just scared the shit out of me when he started saying all those things."

Kairi slowly nodded and looked down at her feet, lazily dangling down from the bench.

"Well.. have you thought about apologizing to him?" She finally said, looking up at me with a kind expression that made me feel slightly at ease.

"Yeah, but I'm afraid he's not gonna let me get close to him another time." I replied, laughing bitterly at myself for being such an idiot.

"That's not quite what it seems like to me", Kairi encountered, a serious tone in her voice.

"..Really?" I asked, feeling like yet another heavy weight was removed from my shoulders. So Sora wasn't that angry at me after all? Because if it was up to me, I would be more than happy to start over as friends with the little brunette. Maybe I could even some day find out how he knew so many things about me.

"Really." Kairi chuckled, now smiling widely. I felt as if I had been thrown from hell back to earth. Maybe things weren't as bad off as I had thought. I couldn't help but smile too, and after a while both of us were sitting on the bench, laughing at something we weren't even quite sure what it was.

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	6. Chapter 5

**I'm so sorry I didn't update yesterday!! I got home pretty late and I started writing this chapter but I was tired like hell and the bed was just too tempting.. I'm such a lazy-ass 8D**

**Special thanks to all reviewers and those who put this story on their alert list and all!! I love you guys!! **_  
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_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

"So Sora, what do you have next? I mean, after lunch of course." Kairi asked cheerfully.

I searched for my schedule in my bag and examined it for a while.

"Seems like.. Hm. Maths, oh great. Just about the last subject I wanted it to be.." I replied mumbling, slightly furrowing my eyebrows at the not-so-pleasuring sight. Just to let you know, I'm not bad at maths. I'm totally _horrible_ at it. I'm happy if I manage to pass this grade."

I noticed Kairi waving to someone but I couldn't see any familiar faces in the crowd so I let myself get dragged along with her until I realized whom she had waved to..

Riku.

I stopped following at the immediate sight of him, feeling somewhat uneasy as I realized he was staring at me.

"What's wrong Sora? It's just Riku, silly." Kairi giggled and tried to drag me further, but this time I wriggled my wrist out of her grip.

"Eehuumm... I don't think he would want me to come with you.. I.. I think I'd better go now, see you later, Kairi!"

And so I headed into the opposite direction, not really sure where I would go now, but it didn't matter. For a short moment I found myself wishing that Riku would come after me and tell me to join them, but I tried to pull away that thought. Besides, I should know by now it's not very safe to make wishes.

I made my way out of the crowd of students and sat down on the floor close to a long row of huge windows. I took out my sketch book and a pencil from my bag and decided to draw something. As I didn't have anything in particular to draw, I just drew random characters, to make time pass by a little faster.

About half an hour later I was so lost in my own world of drawings I hadn't realized someone had decided to sit down, right next to me. So, completely unaware of this person's presence, I sat there sketching, until I felt someone's breath on my neck.

"Nice drawings. I didn't know you were that good at it."

"Uwa! Hey, you sca-"

I turned around._ Shit_. No mistakes, no kidding. It was Riku. I felt like my head had been wiped blank white in a matter of seconds. He wasn't coming to beat me up further, was he? _Shit._ He's staring at me.. _Say something, Sora!_ Oh yeah.

"Wh.. what brings you here?" I asked. Smooth, very. God, I wish I had tried to sound a little more angry. After all, he didn't treat me exactly in a nice way earlier this morning. That's right, I'm supposed to be mad at him, not stuttering lame nonsense.

"Sora.."

Silence.

"..I was wondering if we maybe could be friends?"

_..Huh?_

Does he have a really bad sense of humor? 'Cause I'm not laughing. No, actually, I'm staring at him mouth wide open. And here I was thinking about looking mad... I'm afraid the impression I'm giving isn't exactly one of anger. Someone, slap me in the face.

"Look, I'm sorry for what happened earlier today. I just.. I didn't think before I started acting. I really regret treating you the way I did, if you need to know. I was just hoping we.. could start anew?" Riku continued, giving me a small hopeful smile.

_Hopeful?_ So this _wasn't_ some sort of lame joke? I noticed his smile slowly fading as I just sat there, not saying anything. What's wrong with me? _I need to freaking say something!!_

"AAaahh.. Friends? Errr.. Sure! Why not? I mean.. hehehee.. It's okay, I didn't really mind it that much.. hehe." Great, I'm rambling like a nervous school girl in front of her crush. I scratched the back of my neck and gave him a grin, hoping he got the message. His face seemed to brighten up.

"Great." He said and smiled widely, offering me a hand to help me stand up. I took it and smiled back towards him. Suddenly, I had this nice feeling that maybe today wasn't going to be that bad after all. I had found my Riku, we were on friendly terms now and somehow I just knew that Riku felt at ease, too.

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_(Riku's p.o.v.)_

This was the first time I ever had this sudden urge to glomp someone just because I felt so happy and relieved. Of course, I refrained from doing so. What would people think if they saw RIKU, out of all people, glomping random people at school? That would be just so.._off._

But honestly, I don't remember the last time I would have felt this great just because I had been forgiven. I had been a little afraid Sora wouldn't be willing to cooperate with me, but I'm glad he did. That was all that mattered for now.

"So.. what subject do you have next?" I asked him, suddenly cursing our age difference. I really wanted to have class together with him, he just.. He managed to make everything seem less boring somehow. But since I knew that wasn't going to happen, I decided to make the best out of the remaining 15 minutes of lunch break.

"Math.. I swear, I hate math, I'm horrible at it. It doesn't matter how hard I try; I just don't get it." Sora complained, rubbing his head.

"Oh. I'm pretty good at math, you know. I could always tutor you.. if you'd like to, of course." I wasn't able to hide the faint smirk creeping upon my lips.

"Really? I mean, that's great! I could really use some help, you know.."

"Well, I'll see you after school then?"

"Uhm.. Sure! But.. where do we go? I mean, my mom and dad will probably be at home, and it's still sort of messy and.. well, if you're okay with all that, I guess there shouldn't be any problems, but-"

"It's okay Sora, you can come over to my place. No one's gonna bother us, since my parents will arrive home late and my weird-ass brother just stays locked up in his room."

Kadaji sure was one anti-social guy for a brother. Whenever I entered his room, he just laid on the bed listening to music through his earphones. He was completely oblivious to anything that happened around him. A while back I tried to introduce him to some of my friends, but he didn't seem very interested in any social arrangements. So, eventually, I gave up. If the guy really wanted to live like he did, then fine, it's not like we were very close anyway.

Soon, the school bell rang, signing the students it was time to arrive to the classrooms. I said goodbye to Sora and absently started to drag myself to my physical education class. I felt like I had lots of spare energy to waste for once. However, despite all the energy I had, I didn't manage to concentrate very well at whatever I was doing. I kept repeating today's events in my head, still not quite aware how everything had gone so well in the end.

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_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

Thanks goodness Riku hadn't taken the offer to come over to my house after school. I don't even want to imagine what my parents would be like if I just dragged him over and said "This is my Riku, yes, the one I told you about, and yes, he is real!" That would equal to no happy ending to our friendship..

But, I was happy nonetheless. Not only had I made up with Riku, but he also promised to help me with maths. Maybe my parents could finally be really proud of me if I started to get good grades and stopped with all my.. 'secret-Riku-activities'. I had this pleasant warmth inside me, feeling ever so positive.

Unfortunately, my good mood was sort of ruined as soon as Vexen got started with the lesson.. Maths was difficult enough back in Traverse Town, but _this_ was just plain impossible. The more Vexen kept explaining, the less I understood.

".. and so, this is where the hard part begins. You see, when this variable here gets replaced by.."

After a while I gathered away my notes with a defeated sigh. I wasn't in the mood to even try to understand. I would just let Riku explain it all to me later, I'm sure even he is a better teacher than Vexen.

".. and then you should have the right answer on your paper. Not that difficult, is it? So, I'd like you to finish exercises 1-7 on page.."

As soon as the lesson finally ended (much to my delight), I practically flew out of the classroom in rush. I didn't want to waste another second in there. I wandered around in the halls for a bit, looking for familiar faces. I didn't have to search for long, until I saw Selphie waving her hands almost hysterically from their group of friends. There was Tidus, Selphie, Riku and Wakka.

"Hi Sora! I heard you and Riku already spoke with each other so I guess there's no need for us to introduce him to you anymore." Selphie said, clapping her hands together, cheerful as ever.

"So, would you like to join us at the mall today after school? We could show you around at some really nice stores." She went on.

"Unfortunately, he's already got plans with me." Riku said, not even looking at me.

"Eeh, really? But come on, Riku! You can do whatever you're intending to do some other day, can't you?"

"Nope, school is more important. I'm going to help this little boy with maths, because he just fails at it." Riku replied, poking my side with a supercilious smirk.

"Heey!" I cried out "You aware that I'm standing right here?"

"Nope" came the answer, as he dragged me away from the rest of the group.

"Wait, Riku, where are you taking me? Why aren't we staying with Selphie and Tidus and-"

"Because I don't want them to convince you to go to the mall instead. I know they can be very manipulative at times."

"Oh.. Well you know Riku, there's no need to feel that way. I already promised you, and I'm _never_ going back on my promises!"

I put my hand on my chest as if to show it all came from my heart, but Riku just rose an eyebrow with a faint smile.

"..Cheesy."

A chuckle. I swear. Is he laughing at me or what?

"Hey, what's so funny?"

"You, and your gullible mind."

Now he's laughing. Don't ask me for what reason, but I'm laughing too. Just seeing Riku laugh makes me laugh too. Maybe it's because he just seems a lot like a different person.. at least from the impression he gave me this morning. And in all honesty, his laughter doesn't sound half as cool as he looks, no, it's almost hilarious. But it really suits him. I wouldn't like him any other way.

Just one more boring lesson and then there would be a good 18 hours of freedom before I would find myself in school again. My last class was chemistry; something I could cope with as long as there wasn't something that needed inhuman math-skills. To my surprise the teacher seemed a little extraordinary but all in a good way. He had flaming red hair, throughly green eyes and some weird teardrop shaped tattoos beneath his eyes. He certainly didn't look very eager to teach these kids any chemistry.

"Thanks god he's just a substitute, I can't stand him going on about fire this fire that every lesson!" I heard a long haired brunette complain to her friends with an exaggerated sigh. The students just kept on babbling and running around the classroom, and for a moment I wondered whether the redhead was just going to ignore everything. Eventually though, he stepped in front of the class, placing his hands on his hips in a very demanding way.

"Okay, _silence_ everyone. You know I'm about as eager as you to be here so let's just get away with this.. Anyway, let's start with checking who's absent." He said as he sat down on the teacher's table with a pen in his mouth. He browsed a bunch of papers and took out a list from the pile.

"So.. Asami?"

"Here."

"Higuchi?"

"Yeees!"

"Hikari?"

The redhead looked up for the first time, his eyes fixed upon a blonde boy with blue eyes and messy hair. He was now smirking visibly, waiting for the younger boy to reply. After a moment of just sitting in silence, staring at each other the blonde looked away, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Do I even need to answer you, Axel?" he mumbled.

"Aww, Roxie, don't be mean." Axel tried to pout, but went on with the list with a faint smile on his lips. I wondered how that blonde.. Roxie (what kind of name is that by the way?) and Axel seemed to know each other already. However, they didn't really talk to each other during rest of the class so I guess they maybe weren't that close.

After roughly 70 minutes of watching Axel amuse himself with fire and telling stories about pranks he used to pull with some childhood friend named Demyx, the school bell finally rang, letting the students know it was time to have a little fun. Or whatever whoever decided to do. As for my case; I don't think I've ever been this eager to learn math.

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(A/N: Uuum.. well you know, I still haven't finished KH2 because it really took me fucking forever to even get a playstation XD I mean, my parents never buy me anything (especially if it's gaming-related, lol) but now I finally got one (YAY!). But my point is that I have no freaking idea what Vexen is like, but I thought he just _looks_ like he'd fit for a maths teacher, so.. XD you get my point!)


	7. Chapter 6

**Oh noes, my updating schedule seems to be slightly off! D: But, thanks goodness it's weekend now, so I hope I will be able to write a bit more now! **

**And once again, I want to give a HUUUUUGE thank you to all my reviewers and favvers and whatnot!! Thank you so much for your support, it means a bunch to me! **

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_(Riku's p.o.v.)_

I was already outside, waiting by the school gates when Sora arrived. It's really a pain in the ass to make your way out of the crowd of students, especially if you aren't used to it. So, it didn't exactly surprise me that Sora was a bit late.

"Sorry," he breathed "It took me forever to make my way to my locker and get my stuff."

Sora gave me a small smile in apology as he swung his bag over his shoulder.

"It's okay. I know what it's like when all the students are running around."

"So.. Off to your house then, I guess?"

"Yup. Off to my house."

We walked mostly in silence, but it didn't feel awkward or anything. After like 15 minutes we arrived to our destination, and I could catch Sora's eyes widening just slightly at the sight.

Well, I do admit our house is quite big and nice, but not like ridiculously big as in having a hundred bedrooms of no use. Yes, my parents are rather rich, but they've never spoiled me like you think they would. I actually do work occasionally to earn some money for myself.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, though I was pretty aware of what made him stop walking in the first place. But well, I just wanted to ask for the sake of asking.

"You really have a huge house, you know.." he mumbled, still staring at the big white house in awe.

"Well, it's not _that_ big. Come on Sora, let's get inside already." I grabbed Sora's sleeve and pulled him with me inside. Before going upstairs to my room, I took a few cans of coke from the fridge. As we got into my room, I immediately lumped down on the bed, watching Sora look around the room.

There wasn't really anything interesting to see; I'm not the kind who likes to have a lot of useless furniture in my room. All I had was my bed (of course), a work desk where my screw-up computer stood collecting dust and a simple wardrobe. Some clothes were carelessly thrown across the floor, but that was about the only sign of someone actually living in this room. The bed sheets, carpet and curtains we're all a similar shade of blue; seeing my favorite color really was blue, just like Sora had said.

After a while of examining the little furniture I had, Sora sat down on the floor next to my bed. I handed him a coke and popped up on my elbows to get a better view.

"So.. Where should we start? Do you have something in particular that you want me to help you with?"

Sora chuckled a bit, as if the question was the stupidest thing he had heard yet.

"Well you know," he said while digging out his math book and notes from his bag "I hardly think there's anything I _don't_ need help with. Take a look."

Sora handed me over a few loose papers with some sort of scribbles and half-finished calculations in his almost unreadable writing.

"And no laughing." He added, frowning playfully.

I really had to bite my lip to not start laughing, but I couldn't help the smirk twitching at my lips. Sora hadn't been exaggerating at all. I wondered how he even had managed to graduate from junior high school with these skills. Okay, that's maybe a little roughly put. But still. The boy seriously needed help.

"Sora, may I ask you something? How the _hell_ have you survived through all you school years with.. _this?_"

"I swear, I heard you chuckle! I said no laughing!" Sora exclaimed, but failed miserably to hide his own chuckles. "But really, maths wasn't this hard back in Traverse Town. It feels like I had suddenly skipped a grade or two when I got here."

"Do you even know how to solve an equation?"

"What, of course I do! I'm not _that_ bad, you know!"

Sora made a pout and tried to look offended, but once again, his face didn't really give that impression. But it was just so fun teasing him and watch him make all kinds of faces. I really liked that part of him.

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_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

No matter how many times I've tried to be angry with Riku, it just never works. I can't be angry with someone like him, I really just _can't_. But it's okay. I really don't need to be angry with him anyway.

I watched Riku search for something in his desk drawers, as he eventually pulled out a bunch of papers.

"Here." he said, dumping the pile down right next to me. "Read through those and you should at least know the theory. After you're finished with that, let's have a look at some exercises."

Riku smiled and sat down next to me, carefully watching my expression turn from surprise to utter despair. How the _hell_ did he think I could make all that information fit into my brain, not to mention _remembering_ it!?

"Riku, what the-"

"Don't say you can't do it, 'cause that's not gonna make things any better. You have to trust yourself. You _can_ do it, it's not impossible. Every question has at least one right answer, and that alone makes solving them possible."

Damn that guy. Did he ever _not_ know what to say to someone? 'Cause I was getting the feeling arguing with him only has one outcome: you lose. So I picked up the first paper in the pile and started examining it. I stared at the numbers and symbols written across the page; why did it always feel like my brain froze over at the mere _sight_ of math?

"Sora, staring at it wont help you. Focus on one thing at time instead of jumping back and forth until you give up." Riku said, leaning in and covering everything but the first square beneath his hands. "Begin here. Just read the description and try to understand what you're reading."

And damn that guy again. It really worked. I wanted to slap myself for not realizing something like this before. It wasn't as hard as it looked like, the problem was just that I never really had done anything else but _looked_ at it. No wonder I didn't understand a thing.

After about an hour of asking and explaining I felt like I needed a break. Luckily Riku seemed to agree to the fullest. So, after ordering pizza to fill hungry tummys with and a little lying around talking about random things, there's nothing better to do than play video games.

"Hey Riku, let's go play some of your video games?"

For a moment Riku stared at me in silence. I was just about to lean forward and poke his head when he finally spoke.

"Oh. Right. You already knew about those, didn't you." He said in a playful tone, but his expression soon became very serious. "Sora, exactly how much do you know about me?"

How am I supposed to answer that question? I mean.. I don't know if there's something about him I _don't_ know. Ugh, this is making my brains go washing-machine.

"Err.. I don't know, I suppose? At least enough to make it feel like we've been friends forever.. but, you really don't know anything about me?"

"Nope. I'm still completely positive I haven't met you before."

It actually hurt quite a bit to know I was a complete stranger to him. Just one day ago he hadn't even known I existed. Why was it that only I knew him? This whole fuzz made me want to crack open his brain and find out if he was just pretending or maybe had gotten amnesia and forgot about everything. But no. It just seemed like we had to start from square one: "Get to know each other." Or more like, he had to get to know me. Well, I like Riku even better now that I can actually see and feel him, so I'm not complaining. Maybe there still are some things about him I don't know yet.

"Okay, well you're going to get to know me whether you like it or not." I said and couldn't help the smile creeping upon my lips as I went on. "For example, I'm unbeatable at video games. You'll see soon enough what I mean."

"Whoa, someone's being a little over-confident here. Don't be so sure about your victory, little boy." Riku encountered with a chuckle as he stood up and ruffled my hair.

"I'm not 'little boy', I'm Sora! And don't mess up my hair!" I whined, trying to fix my hair a bit.

I hadn't even realized I was pouting until Riku mimicked me, sitting down right in front of me with a pout and pretended to be fixing his hair. There was a short moment of silence as I just stared at him because the sight was just so utterly hilarious; Riku looked like a real idiot as he sat there. I hope to god I don't look as stupid as him when I do that. He stopped fingering at his hair when he found me staring at him, and then both burst out in laughter.

"Come on, Sora." He dragged me up on my feet. "Let's make it clear for your gullible brains who _truly_ is 'number one' at video games!"

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(A/N: Oh no this is becoming so cheesy.. XD I need to do something about it. No, I _will_ do something about it!)


	8. Chapter 7

**Again, a huge thank you to all of you for giving me such wonderful support:3I can't put my gratitude into words, but just you know, I love you all!**

**And also, I'm getting a bit confused with myself regarding replying to reviews, so from now on, I'll just put them here X3**

**PhinMaginONLY: **Yeah, Riku caring about Sora suits him better than not caring! XD I'll try to keep updating as often as possible!

**Ichiemay: **Uh-oh, stupid Cloud stealing his profession! 8D Well, I hope he can forgive me, lol.

**Becca86: **Yeah, I'd probably freak out really badly too! But on the other hand, if it would be someone as cute as Sora, then maybe I could pretend everything would be less scary than it really is.. :3

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_(Riku's p.o.v.)_

I had to admit Sora was difficult to defeat, but there's no way I would ever lose in a video game. Unless it was on purpose, of course. But that didn't occur very often. Or more like, it hadn't occurred before today, because the only few humans who knew about my video games-obsession were all hopeless at any games. But now, finally, I had someone whom I could invite over just to play video games with me, and I don't think he would ever turn down that offer. Sora sure wanted to prove the world that he wouldn't lose at anything, but I think it was really nice to see him so determined.

"So Sora, do you yet believe you can't beat me at video games?" I asked, more or less knowing that he would never admit his defeat. But it was fun teasing him about it nevertheless.

"No, you're just cheating! I know it, I really caught you cheating that one time!" Sora pouted and furrowed his eyebrows. "Besides, you've played this game much longer than me, so that leaves you at a huge advantage."

"Oh come on, Sora. We both know I never cheated and you're just being to stubborn to admit that you lost."

"Sure." He snorted and put away the controller. "Hey, what about watching TV a bit? It's only half past six so I guess my parents wont be missing me quite yet."

I looked around in the dark room trying to find the controller, eventually spotting it half hidden by one of the pillows on the floor. I started to switch channels back and forth until I felt something warm against my lap. I glanced down and found Sora half lying in my lap, keeping his arms loosely looped around my waist. It felt as if my brain stared malfunctioning at that very moment. I was very aware that Sora knew I'm gay, but it didn't seem like he would have meant it quite _that_ way. His expression was completely at ease, as if he hadn't even noticed he was lying in my lap, and he didn't seem one bit tense. Maybe it was just another friendly act? After all, he had said that for him it felt like he had known me all his life. Yes, that had to be the explanation. Also, Sora probably wasn't gay himself, so he wouldn't know I might take it the wrong way. But still, I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable by the position we were in. His head was resting just inches away from my..

"Riku, why are we watching _this_? Do you like these soap-opera things?" Sora spoke, looking puzzled at the television where a man and a woman seemed to have some kind of argument.

Oh shit, I completely forgot about the television too.

"Err, no.. I just.. spaced out for a moment. I definitely don't like this crap, hell no, don't you even think like that." I replied and started to browse channels again.

I had better find something interesting soon or my head would just repeat 'Sora is lying in your lap' nonstop. After a while of pointless of switching back and forth the two of us ended up watching cartoons. I can't say cartoons is the most breath-taking thing I have watched, but for the moment, it had to do. I occasionally heard Sora chuckle at something the characters did, but I realized my situation was more or less hopeless. I couldn't make myself concentrate at the cartoons one second. Then, before I even realized what I was doing, I found my hands playing with his hair. I gently tugged at his chocolate brown spikes trying to concentrate on that instead. It worked for a few good seconds.

"Hnn.. That feels nice, Ri-ku." Sora purred and let out a small, happy sigh.

So much for distracting myself. I only hummed in response to Sora, despreately trying to think of any solution to my, possibly soon-to-be, big problem. I don't know for how long I just sat there trying to think of some excuse to leave, but suddenly I found that maybe it really was my lucky day today. Sora had fallen asleep. I gently wiggled my way out of his grasp and put a pillow under his head. I turned off the television so any noices wouldn't wake him up in vain. I couldn't help but notice how peaceful and comfortable he looked when he slept. Do I have to tell you how tempting the pillows around in the half-dark room looked? Well anyway, it wasn't long until I found myself lying next to Sora, eyelids closed. I hadn't even realized how tired I was. I bet it wouldn't take me long to fall asleep. And in the end, I hadn't got that much sleep last night, much thanks to the little brunette now sleeping beside me. So it was pretty fair I got my beauty sleep too, even if it was a bit delayed.

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"..Riku? Riku, are you awake?"

I mumbled something and nuzzled into my pillow, feeling highly comfortable in the warmth, wanting to sleep just a bit longer.. Until realization hit me. I sat up straight in a matter of milliseconds, wondering how long I had slept. I looked around the room for a clock until I remembered there was none. So, with this genius brain I have, I tried to figure out what would be the least troublesome way to find out what time it was. Until I heard a giggle. Don't look at me. I don't _giggle_. I turned over to face Sora wondering how he could be laughing when _he_ was the one who still had to go home. What if it was past midnight?

"Don't worry Riku, it's not even eight yet." Sora chuckled, as if reading my thoughts.

"How do you know?" I asked, wondering where the hell he got that piece of information from. Sure, he could have turned on the TV, but I think I would have woke up if he had done so..

Sora pulled out something from his pocket and flipped it open with a big, toothy grin. Oh yes. A mobile phone. It really seems my brains are still in dream-land.

"But you know," He said, putting his phone back into his pocket. "I should probably head home now. Mom and dad might wonder where I've been."

"Yeah, it is pretty late.."

We dragged ourselves back to my room only to be greeted by a dozen of math papers. Right. I had completely forgotten about those. On the other hand I would have a reason to invite Sora over another time. Maybe I could ask him a bit more about why he knows me. I wanted to know, but I also didn't want to lose him as a friend. Of course, we weren't _that_ good friends yet, seeing I have only known him for a mere day, but I'm sure we'll be very good friends in the future. Who knows, maybe even best friends.

"We didn't make that much progress in your math studies so.. maybe you could come over some time again? I mean, if you're okay with that. I know you don't like maths but.. maybe you'll come to?" I offered, hoping he would agree. Not that it mattered _that_ much, I would still see him every day at school and so on.

"Oh come on Riku, you make it sound like all I would ever do at your house is maths," Sora said with a grin. "But yeah., sounds great to me. I'm more than happy to come over any time you're free, and besides, I like hanging out with you better than with Tidus-and-Selphie company.. no offense!" He finished with a wink.

I couldn't help but laugh at him. I'm sure he wouldn't be able to offend anyone even if he wanted to. He was far too cheerful and open-hearted to do that. I watched Sora put his stuff back into his back and went to see him off. As I watched his small back slowly disappearing into the darkness of the evening, I noticed this warm feeling inside of me. Maybe this is what real friendship is like? 'Cause it felt like I and Sora were just.. destined to meet each other. Not that I actually believe in destiny or anything. But it was weird somehow. As I went back inside the house and into my room, I wondered if I would get much of sleep this night either. I kept repeating today's events in my head, still not quite aware of all that had happened. Usually things never really happened in my life here on Destiny Islands. Then suddenly, a boy from a town far away comes and makes this one day more eventful than the last three years have probably been all together. He definitely seemed like the type who wanted to change the whole world. But even if he'd never manage to change _this_ world, he could at least be certain he had changed something.

That's my world. Because even if he was to disappear tomorrow, I wouldn't forget him. But surely it would feel like something was missing.

------------

_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

Despite the awkward encounter I had had with Riku this morning, I still felt like this day couldn't have been much better. I thought back at how I had felt in the morning, still so nervous about how things would turn out. I let out a small chuckle at the thought, then quickly looked around me if there was anyone to hear me laughing to myself. Fortunately, the street was empty. So I continued my journey towards home, hoping that my mom and dad wouldn't be too angry with me. I decided to tell them I had been over at Tidus' house, because it didn't exactly feel very safe to mention about Riku yet. I knew I had to tell them some day.. but just not yet. I wanted to make sure Riku wouldn't be willing to end out friendship just because my parents might be slightly against it. Right. If there was anything I really wanted next, it was to create a strong bond between us. Something, that nothing could ever tear apart. Because even if I was sure I would never leave Riku now that I had finally found him, I wasn't very sure about how he felt about me. I didn't exactly want to insist upon staying friends if he wasn't as eager as me about it.

I arrived home about five minutes past eight. I couldn't believe my luck today as my parent's didn't really ask me a lot about where I had been. Maybe it was because my mom had seen me hang out with Tidus and his friends the other day, and apparently she had decided he was a nice guy. Which he really was. I quickly prepared a sandwich to eat in my room as I finished the little of my english homework we had been assigned to do. Before I went to sleep, I decided to take a long nice bath and just relax. As I sat there, surrounded by warm water and bubbles, I found myself wondering what Riku might be thinking at the moment. Did he think we could become really good friends? Or maybe he thought I was just annoying? I know, I know, thinking about things usually doesn't make anything any better. But I just couldn't help it. I wanted to know. I sighed into the water, causing a few bubbles to fly up in the air. I knew I would just have to wait and see how things turned out. But still.. Do I have to tell you I hate waiting?

When the water slowly turned cooler, I got up and went to change into pyjamas. Before I climbed into my comfy bed, I dug out a few letters from my drawers. I eyed through them, smiling to myself wondering whether I should show them to Riku one day. Even though I had always believed my Riku was real.. it all still felt so unreal. I had a bad feeling all this luck of mine would turn out to be a devil in disguise or something. But quite frankly, that didn't really bother me much for now. Soon, I got tired of just thinking and wondering, and drifted into dreamland.

------------

_I had no idea of what was going on. Suddenly I found myself in a completely unfamiliar house with small groups of people scattered around chatting. What really made me curious were the pink posters on the walls. Everything but the names on the posters were written in a foreign language, so I wasn't able to figure out what they said. I walked from room to room, until I spotted one pink poster with Riku's name on it. Now I wasn't only just curious anymore, no, I **had** to know what this was all about. Was it some sort of 'vote-for' thing? But why? And what was it all about? I saw a pair of girls walking in my direction and decided to ask them if they knew something about this thing._

_ "It's a reminder for everyone who will be sent away." A girl with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail said. "Everyone whose name is written on a pink poster has to leave this place and go.. somewhere. I'm not sure. It's some kind of a war and they need fighters."_

_ War? I wanted to ask the girl what this was was about and why such young people were supposed to be a part of it. But then, the girl was no longer there. Or more like, I had suddenly moved into another room, lying on the floor. I found Riku sitting on his knees next to me._

_ "Don't worry Sora; I will be back. It's a promise." He said and kissed my forehead. Then he stood up and left through the door into a blinding white light without looking back even once. I tried to stand up and go with him, but my body felt like it was made out of lead. I wanted to scream, to cry, just **anything**, but the smile was like glued on my face. My gaze slowly traveled back to the poster with Riku's name written on it. Suddenly I got the feeling it might be the only thing reminding me about him that I had left._

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I flew up from my bed, eyes wide open. For a while I just stared right in front of me breathing unevenly, still not quite aware it had only been a dream. Sure I had had nightmares before, but.. this one just seemed awfully real. I absently let my fingers touch my forehead, as if Riku had kissed me for real. That's right. Riku was real, wasn't he? Sure I hadn't just dreamed all that with going over to his house and all? I looked at my alarm clock, which showed about twenty minutes past two in the morning. There would be no point in getting up this early, so I slid back under my duvet. Still trying to calm down myself a bit, I rubbed my temples and took a few deep breaths. There was no way everything that had happened would just have been a dream. Riku was real, and I'm sure me being over to his house had been real as well. And it wasn't that long until I would get to see him again. About 7 hours, to be precise.

But there was still a weird, stinging pain in my heart. It felt.. as if something was missing. As if I only was a half.

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(A/N: Ugh. These are so OOC and I really hate this chapter DX I don't know if this is the result of a writers block or just a major lack of sleep but.. let's hope it doesn't occur very often! And also, please forgive me any grammar/spelling errors, I'm just tired to death right now and I should be asleep XD my brain isn't really functioning for the moment!)


	9. Chapter 8

**I know many of you seemed pretty confused by that dream scene in the last chapter, I sort of forgot to mention that it doesn't really have much to do with the plot X3 I just happened to dream that same dream and I decided to add it to the story just because I could make fun of Sora, lol XDXDXD**

**Also, I'm sorry for updating a little late again, but the past few days I've been worried sick about something, and really, I couldn't bring myself to do anything. I was all nervous and tense all the time. But anyway, it's over now (I think!) 8D**

**Again, a Huuuuuge biiig enormous thank you to everyone who reviewed and faved and read this story! I'm so happy to know people actually read this! Thank you thank you so much!!**

**Becca86:** I'm really bad at video games too, but I do like them anyway XD Oh and about Sora's dream.. err, well, yes. You know, I feel really bad for not mentioning it wasn't really that important! I'm sorry for confusing you! D:

**Riku's Dark Angel: **Thank you so much for all your reviews, it sure makes me happy to read them:3 Yeah, Riku is swearing quite a lot, but I just think that suits him XD Oh and.. the little part Sora is missing is just.. a certain someone! wink ;D

_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

Today I didn't see Riku on my way to school, as I quite frankly had hoped. Not like I would have had something very important to tell him, but.. I guess I just wanted some company. My thoughts slowly came back to my dream and this weird feeling I got about it. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't put it into words. I wasn't sad, but still something seemed a little off in me. But the more I thought of it, the more confusing it seemed, so I decided to just let it go. It couldn't be anything very important because it was only a dream. And maybe I could ask Riku and the others? It might seem a little weird though, thinking so much about a _dream_, but I can't help being curious.

It was still a good fifteen minutes before class would start, so there wasn't that many students rushing around yet. In other words, I didn't have to feel like a fish swimming against swiftly-floating water trying to make my way to my locker. I took a quick look at my schedule and finding, much to my delight, that I had art class next. I happily made my way towards the classroom, as I saw a somewhat familiar blonde on my way. Apparently he heard me approaching him, since he turned around.

"Good morning, Sora." he said, looking fairly tired in the morning.

"Morning.. wait.. was it Roxie?" I said, remembering Axel had called him that during chemistry class yesterday.

"God, no! No! My name is Roxas! Only Axel calls me by that stupid nickname." he cried out, looking almost terrified.

I couldn't help but laugh at his expression, watching him blush just slightly. But surely, Roxas was at least a hundred times better than 'Roxie'.

"So.. Roxas, you seem to know our chemistry teacher pretty well already.. I assume you have met him somewhere outside school?" I asked as we continued our way towards the art class.

"Well, I've pretty much known Axel ever since I was small.. Our elder brothers, Cloud and Reno, have always been good very friends, and Reno brought Axel with him almost every time he came over to our house. Then, as we grew older, me and Axel just didn't see each other very often anymore. We sort of drifted apart. But then, without a warning, he shows up in this school, and somehow I get the feeling he hasn't changed at all." Roxas said,. swinging his hands in frustration, only to be caught in a new pair of hands.

"You're just happy to see me again. Admit it, Roxie!" Axel purred in the blondes ear, causing the younger one to blush all red.

"Shut up." Roxas mumbled to Axel, turning around to face the redhead.

I thought they looked pretty cute together and I decided to leave them alone for a while. I smiled towards Roxas and waved to him as I went into the classroom. I could almost swear I saw Axel's eyes brighten up as I left the two of them on their own. Inside the classroom there were many drawings and paintings hung up on the walls. I walked around, looking through every and each of them. The room was pretty big, but it wasn't messy like you would think an art classroom would be like. Everything in the room was made out of wood, giving a rather cozy atmosphere. There were a few big closets at the end of the room and a few low tables, but no chairs, only a big dark green mat covering the floor. In the corner, next to the door, was a little sink where brushes and cups were neatly placed. The room was probably a little bit _too_ tidy in my taste, but maybe it would look less empty when the other students arrived.

When the school bell finally rang, Roxas was the first one to enter the classroom. He was rubbing his temples looking like had had the hangover of the year. I chuckled, fighting the urge to tease him a bit. That probably wasn't really what he needed right now. Soon, the rest of the students came flooding into the room. Roxas introduced me to his little group of friend, consisting of two boys, Hayner and Pence and a girl named Olette. A few minutes later the teacher arrived. Honestly, if you ask me, he definitely didn't seem like a teacher. No, if I hadn't known he was a teacher, I would never _ever_ had thought he would be. He had long, flawless, silver hair hanging straight down. He was wearing an expensive-looking black coat and he had very piercing turquoise eyes. He looked rather scary, but in a curious way.

"His name is Sephiroth," Olette whispered to me. "You know, his art is _incredible_, but still about as scary as he himself is. I've seen a few of his paintings; they're all dark and pretty disturbing."

Well, that I could imagine. He surely seemed like that type.

"Your assignment for today is to draw your friend.." Sephiroth said as he slowly walked across the room. "..but to make it a little more interesting, I want you to try to draw the opposite of what you see. For example, if your partner has blue eyes, you could make them orange."

What the hell? Does this guy always give this weird assignments? I couldn't help but wonder.

"Hey Sora, wanna pair with me? Olette wanted to be with Naminé." Roxas said.

"Sure." I replied, happy to not have to bother myself about whom I should pair up with. Roxas showed me where all the art stuff could be found and told me how to treat the various brushes. As we got started with the sketching, I realized the task was even harder than it sounded at first. My first thought of drawing Roxas with long black hair ended up in the trashcan because it looked plain stupid. After a short while of thinking, I decided to try to only change a few things. At the end of the lesson, I still wasn't completely finished, but it was a far better than any of my previous tries. The boy really resembled Roxas, even though they didn't really look alike. I had decided to keep Roxas' eyecolor, haircut and shape of head the same, but the rest was less or more different. I had given him frostblue hair, white eyelashes and freckles. He looked almost girlish, to be fully honest. I took the drawing with me, deciding to finish it at home.

After yet another class of French it was finally time for lunch break. I was really hungry as hell, and I rushed out of the classroom as fast as I could when the bell rang. I hadn't seen Riku at all during the morning and I was starting to wonder whether he was ill or something. I really hoped he wasn't, because I wanted to tell him about my dream. Fortunately, I had forgotten about that weird feeling I had had in the morning.

"Sora! There you are!" I heard someone call from the crowd. I searched for any familiar faces until I spotted Kairi and Tidus waving their hands.

I walked up to them and followed them outside to the school yard.

"Where's Riku? Have you seen him today?" I asked, trying not to sound too eager.

Neither of them needed to answer, as I soon spotted Riku sitting on the grass with Selphie and Wakka. But hey, it's not really my fault I hadn't noticed him at first. Riku had his hair tied up in a ponytail, letting a few bangs hang free slightly framing his face, making him look a lot more tidy. He was wearing a loose, white t-shirt and black cargo pants. It really surprised me how different he could look by just tying up his hair.

"..Sora? The world is calling you!" I heard Riku say to me as Kairi waved her hands in front of my face.

Great. I should probably pay more attention to my surroundings.

"Eeehum.. Sorry, I spaced out a bit.. Hehe. It's Riku's fault for having such a bad influence!" I replied, earning a glare from Riku. I laughed at the sight and went to sit down on the grass too. I dug out my lunch from my bag, which consisted of white bread with honey and 7up. Not very healthy maybe, but who cares? As long as it tastes nice, everything's fine. I mean, what reason do I have to eat healthy food if it tastes bad? None.

"So, how did you maths studies go yesterday?" Selphie asked, sipping at her mango smoothie.

"I didn't know Sora was really _that_ hopeless at maths." Riku chuckled in reply before I had even a chance to think of an answer.

I'm telling you, he's got some bad habit of teasing me all the time. It's unfair.

"That's not true!" I cried out, giving Riku a pout. "I can't help it if your education level is a lot higher in here than it was in Traverse Town!"

"Sure." Riku said, gazing up at the sky, not looking very convinced.

"But anyway, I had a really weird dream last night and I wanted to tell you about it."

"I usually don't remember any of my dreams.." Selphie mumbled, but I decided to ignore it.

"It was pretty weird and I probably don't remember all the parts but anyway, here it goes: I sort of found myself in some unfamiliar house where people sat in small groups talking to each other. Then there was some weird pink posters with names, scattered around on the walls and I found one with Riku's name on it. I asked a girl what they were. She told me it was some sort of 'remember'-thing for those who should be sent away to.. somewhere. Then.. then something happened, I'm not really sure what, but I found myself lying on the floor in one of the rooms. You were sitting there next to me." I spoke, mostly to Riku even though I was aware everyone else was listening too. "Then you said you had to leave or something.. and.. you..eeh.." My voice trailed away as I realized something. I had almost forgotten Riku was gay. He would most likely take it the wrong way if I was to finish that sentence.

"Riku what?" Wakka asked.

"What's this about, Sora? You're blushing like mad." Kairi said, looking both worried and curious at the same time.

Oh crap. Why hadn't this crossed my mind even once before? I couldn't tell them Riku had kissed me on the forehead in my dream. I mean, I hadn't thought of it _that_ way, not for a second. No, I mean.. it just seemed like a very friendly act, but.. I glanced over to Riku, noticing he was looking away as if he was bothered bu something. Could he possible have predicted what I was going to say? Or even worse.. he might have thought it was something far more.. Oh no. I've got to make up something now. Quick.

"I mean, it was just something very weird, dunno, Riku stepped into a very bright light and.. Well, he just walked away without even saying goodbye or looking at me even once."

"Aww.. That's sad!" Selphie said, forming a sad expression on her face.

"I think that's pretty scary." Kairi spoke, tugging at her wine red hair. "You know, I've read that dreaming of a bright, white light symbols death.. Like, Riku would be walking to death or something.. No, no way, Riku, don't you dare go die anytime soon!"

Everyone but Riku himself seemed a whole lot worried by now, and Selphie practically threw herself at Riku.

"Riiiikuuu, don't you dare go anywhere!" She cried out, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

"Take it easy guys, I'm not going anywhere." He chuckled, gently removing Selphie from himself. "I don't know what this weird little brunette is dreaming, but dreams are dreams.You can't foresee-"

"Hey! I'm not little!" I complained, crossing my arms over my chest.

I know, I know, maybe I don't have a prefect body like Riku, but I'm not 'little'. And it's really not my fault that I look like this.

"Yes, you are.." Riku said smiling as he slowly got up but paused halfway and leaned towards me. The others were idly chatting and apparently not caring that Riku was about to leave.

"..but it's not like there's something wrong about that." He finished with a whisper, almost touching my ear, before he walked away.

Everyone else seemed completely oblivious to what just happened, as they happily kept on chatting while gathering their stuff. Fortunately though, that gave me time to turn away and hide my, most likely, crimson red face. I slowly raised my hands to my cheeks. What the_ hell_ was that? No, why did he do it? Maybe.. maybe I did something wrong? Maybe it was because I started going on about that dream? Maybe.. maybe.. no. I could still feel his hot breath on my neck, still hear that low, husky voice in my ears.. What on earth was Riku thinking? I tried to gather my thoughts and stop the flow of questions in my head. There surely was a completely reasonable answer to this. I realized I should probably start heading back inside to my next class or I would be late, but I couldn't do anything but sit on my place. My heart was beating so loudly it was like echoing inside my head. Maybe he didn't do it on purpose? I mean, maybe he was just trying to be kind. Yes. That had to be it. I tried my best to shrug it all off. I grabbed my bag next to me and hurried to the others waiting for me. I'm sure it was just an accident. Right.

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_(Riku's p.o.v.)_

I can't believe what the fuck I'm doing. Someone, slap me in the face. Now. Hard. Sure, sure, Sora is sort of cute and all, but.. I just met him yesterday, and we're supposed to be _friends!_ It wasn't supposed to be like this. I'm not sure what gotten into me, it feels almost like my body is acting on it's own. And even worse, Sora _knows_ I'm gay. So there's an even higher chance he's getting the hint.

Crap.

But still, I can't help but wonder about that dream of his. He was clearly blushing, man, I'm not blind. But what he said didn't exactly sound like something to be embarassed about. There was some part missing about the story, but what? Damn it, I wanted to know. I wish I had asked, but at the moment it hadn't felt like the right option. Especially not with the others sitting around, observing every little movement you made. But on the other hand, maybe I was better off not knowing. Hell, maybe I should even start to wear a straitjacket every time I'm close to Sora. Well that's probably overdoing it a bit.. but still. I was really afraid Sora would be angry with me now.

I went to my locker and took out my stuff, carefully avoiding any contact with a certain little brunette. Running away probably wasn't the most manly thing to do, but right now, I could care less. I unwillingly dragged myself to my English class, now hating the language more than ever. Not because I had anything against it, I just didn't feel like studying. I went to sit at the back row in the corner to be as far away from the teacher as possible. I dug out my iPod from my pocket and turned on the music to help me think of something else. I shuffled back and forth between the music folders, trying to find something fitting to my mood. I was a bit frustrated but.. I didn't actually regret anything I had done. Which sort of did surprise me. Aren't you supposed to feel regret if you've done something inappropriate? Ah.. whatever.

After what felt like a week later, the lesson finally ended. I decided to skip my chemistry class, because I definitely wasn't in the mood to listen to Axel's complainings about missing Roxas right now. Besides, me and Axel were pretty good friends, so I'm sure he would forgive me. A few minutes later, I had already made my way out of the school building. I tried to decide whether I should apologize to Sora or just pretend like nothing ever happened. The latter one sounded a hundred times better, but it was also pretty risky. Maybe I should just wait and see.

"Riku! Wait!" I heard an all too familiar voice shout from behind me.

I tried to pretend I didn't hear it and kept walking forward. _Please, please, please_ just give up, leave me alone, don't try to catch me..

Then, I felt someones hands wrap around my wrist to stop me from walking further. Okay, here goes nothing.

"Riku! Why didn't you stop when I called for you? Are you in a hurry somewhere?" Sora asked, furrowing his eyebrows slightly.

I tried to think of a clever answer, but my thoughts were drawn back to those hands, still wrapped firmly around my wrist.

"..Riku? Are you okay?" He tried again.

"Yeah, I'm okay, I just need a bit sleep. I haven't slept quite enough the last few nights." _Because of a certain you,_ I wanted to add, but refrained from.

"I understand. Well, make sure to get some sleep then!" He said, releasing me from his grip and smiling widely. "And also.. um.. My mom and dad will be visiting some relatives this weekend.. So, I was wondering if you'd like to come over? I mean, we could play video games and watch movies and stuff.." Sora continued, his eyes widening just slightly as if he was really pleading.

Well, at least he didn't seem angry at me. I let out a silent laugh and ruffled his brown spikes.

"Sure, Sora. I'd love to."

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	10. Chapter 9

**Ugh. There's so much laughing and having fun in this chapter that I feel like I need to go and cry just to keep the earth in balance. Or whatever XD I had planned on writing this whole Friday night in one chapter but gee.. Little did I think it would become this long D: **

**Two words: Sweet. Fluff. **

**I'll probably need to se a dentist after this. Okay, my jokes suck. 8D For some reason this chapter seemed endlessly hard to write.. it's not like there's something special about it. I dunno why it would be so hard.. **

**Becca86: **I didn't know either until about.. maybe a half year ago? 8D But really, here I am, still breathing, even though I had several dreams where I saw a bright, white light.. So right, you can't forsee future, or at least I can't XD That's actually pretty hilarious, you know, Riku changing for _the best_.. hint hint w

**13loves8loves9loves6:** Poor little Riku, it's gonna get tough for him I guess ;D

**PhinMaginONLY:** Hehe, I'll try to update as often as possible, even though my schedule isn't.. well, agreeing with me for the moment XD

**Taru Taru Animegal: **Wow, thank you so much for all your reviews!! Made me veeeery happy! Um, yeah, I meant Kadaj from Finall Fantasy.. Nope, I'm not good with names! XDXD And don't worry, Riku's not gonna die ;D Or actually, he probably is, but not in this fanfic, lol 8D The only thing he will be 'fighting' is those feelings he has for our little brunette.. :D!

_(Riku's p.o.v.)_

_Now._ It's officially 'today'. That orange light of my alarm clock tells me it's an entire two minutes past midnight, which means it's Friday now. And it being Friday in other words means that it's going-over-to-Sora's-house day. That's right, next night I wont be sleeping in my own bed. Big deal, huh? Yeah. So. _Why on earth_ am I being so worked up about it?! Since when has hanging with friends become this nerve wrecking? Come on Riku, you have been over to Tidus and Wakka's and Kairi's houses at least a hundred times. Not a single time did you feel the slightest nervous about it. So what's up now? It's not like Sora lives in some creepy catacombs haunted by ghosts or anything like that. And it's not like we're going to do some insane stuff, like robbing a bank, either. Am I being pathetic for talking to myself? Dunno, at least it's a good way to calm down and convince myself. So anyway, let's give it a rough estimation of what everything will be like:

After school, I go home to get my stuff and then head over to Sora's house. Then we're going to play video games, probably laugh like hell and I'll tease Sora for always losing against me. After that we're going to watch the movies Sora chose but wanted to keep secret for some reason, and then I guess it'll be kind of late and we'll be off to bed. And no, we will _not_ be sharing the same bed, thank you very much.

Or what do I know?

Oh shut the fuck up, you stupid, stupid brain. So.. where were I? Oh yes, we go to sleep and.. probably wake up really late, maybe do just some random stuff and then I'll head home again. There you have it. Hooray for rational thinking! So here I am, smiling ever so proudly of my achievement in using my brain logically, slowly starting to feel the comfortable sleepyness taking over me. See? I told you talking to yourself can be very convincing sometimes.

But why is it that I never manage to convince destiny?

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_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

Finally, after an entire exhausting week of school, it was finally, finally Friday. Ever since Wednesday I had been rambling on about all the stuff me and Riku would do once weekend arrived, planning out exactly what movies we were going to watch and what games we were going to play. I know I was probably just a bit over-excited about this whole thing, but it didn't really matter, now did it? Because you know, being excited is a good thing. How fun would it have been if we had been completely indifferent and gloomy about the whole thing? Not very fun.

Once the school bell rang, signaling everyone that it was time to go home, I dashed out of my English class and nearly ran all the way to the school gates. This time I was before Riku, even though he usually is the one who gets here first. But hey, it's not my fault people actually let him pass in the crowd of students, just because he's so popular. Some people just have all the luck.

"Wow Sora, you were fast this time." I head a certain silveret say as he nudged my shoulder.

"Well, it _is_ Friday after all." I replied with a grin and started to walk towards home, Riku walking right beside me.

It's not like I have anything against school itself, but the insane amounts of homework and tests we get is just.. _too_ much. You'll either have to spend all your free time doing school work or be some genius in order to get good grades. I would like to have something nice about my youth to remember when I'm older, rather than a past consisting of nothing but school.. but.. I'd also like to have a nice job and all.. Ugh, why can't things just be a little less complicated?

When we arrived to the street where both my and Riku's houses are located, the two of us parted for a short while and Riku went to get his stuff. As for me, I went inside and slumped down on the comfy sofa to take a short nap before Riku would arrive. Man I was tried, but what would you expect? One week ago I was still packing my stuff in Traverse Town, ready to move out from the town I had lived in for all my life. It's amazing how many things can change in such a short time. To think, one week ago I hadn't even dared to wish that I would meet Riku in person so soon.. And now were already good friends and he's coming over to stay at my house. I stared up at the roof, wondering if all this good luck of mine eventually would turn into something bad. I mean, I've never really been the lucky person (as you probably already have noticed,) so it's kinda hard for me to believe I would ever be.

At first when I met Riku for real, I thought I sort of, knew everything about him. I guess I gave him that impression at least. But lately I've started to realize I don't know him that well at all. It's true that I might know some random things about him he never told anyone else, but for example, I don't know anything about his family. Okay, that's probably a bit lame, but still. I get the feeling I don't know much more about him than he knows about me after all. But surely I will find out some day. There's no need to hurry because he is right here, he is real in every possible human way and he definitely is whom I could call my best friend.

I felt something vibrate in my pocket, and I dug out my cellphone and flipped it open. '_1 New Message'_. That was probably Riku.

'_Axel put fire on the tree outside your house, major damage caused. I'll be arriving soon -Riku._'

..the hell? I jumped up from the comfy sofa and dashed out of the room. I barely managed to put my shoes on before I threw myself out in the garden, only to run into a hard chest which belonged to a very familiar silveret. I backed a few steps and tried to look at both my joyfully smirking friend and the perfectly blooming green tree in the background.

"Riku, what the-"

I never finished that sentence as Riku started to laugh uncontrollably while I just managed to stand there, looking completely dumbfounded.

"Jesus Sora, I didn't think.." Riku tried to speak between his laughs, "I didn't think you would take it seriously." He finished and wiped away the tears from his eyes.

Why do I get the feeling I'm being teased again?

"Okay Sora, the tree is doing just fine on it's own. Let's go inside already." Riku said and looped his arm around my shoulders to pull me inside.

Destination number one was of course the living room. Riku sat down on the dark green sofa as I went to chose what games we were to play. I picked out a random game I remembered I had liked to play a lot when I was younger and showed the case to Riku.

"This," I said and exaggerated my pose, "is something you'll never beat me in!"

Riku just snorted, confident as ever.

"We'll see about that." He said with a smirk.

------------

_(Riku's p.o.v.)_

"Sora, I told you, it doesn't matter whether the game is yours or not." I said and poked his arm. "I will always win anyway."

"But you _are_ cheating! Admit it Riku, admit it! I bet you wouldn't stand a chance against me without those cheats.." the younger boy next to me encountered with that ever so Sora-like pout on his face. That expression could probably melt even the coldest heart, and it's also the main reason why I tease Sora so much.

"Pff, you're just wishing you were as good as me." I replied back, not quite expecting the nudge directed towards me, making me almost fall flat on the floor.

"Well, at least I can still surprise you!" Sora stated cheerfully and flashed me a toothy grin while keeping his arms at either sides of my head. And to be perfectly honest, the position we were in wasn't quite the most casual I could think of.. but Sora being Sora, he just stayed on his place still cheering his victory, not understanding the situation at all. Sometimes I wonder if he really is that oblivious or if he's just pretending to be. Although Sora didn't seem like the kind to pretend, but oh well, what do I know. After what felt like five hours (which happened to be an entire 8 seconds) of staring up at that happy grin, I got seriously uncomfortable and decided to bring Sora back to earth.

"Okay Sora, enough of this." I said, pulling him aside and getting up on my feet. I reached out a hand to help Sora stand up too.

"What now?" he asked, looking like a lost puppy in a big forest.

"How about offering me some coffee? Otherwise I'm gonna fall asleep while watching movies, you know." I said, already making my way towards the kitchen, not really bothering to wait for an answer.

"Wow Riku, that's something I didn't know." Sora said, rushing up to my side and following me into the kitchen. "You drinking coffee, I mean. I haven't ever drunk coffee.. Does it taste good? Man, I wanna try too.."

"Taste good? Hell no, I hate coffee. It tastes awful, but it keeps you awake so I guess it's worth it. You sort of, get used to it." I answered while wrinkling my nose in disgust. Coffee really doesn't taste good at all. If it hadn't been that I found it impossible to stay awake without it, there would be no chance I would drink that stuff.

I sat down at the table, watching Sora carefully measuring the water and pouring it into the coffeemaker. After a few minutes it was all ready and he poured steaming hot coffee into a white mug.

"I'm going to have a taste of this before you get anything." Sora said with an evil smirk that seemed to fade as soon as he looked back down at the coffee. I'm pretty certain he wasn't too fond of the scent of it, but hey, it's not like I am either. Quite the opposite, to be honest.

"Sora, you might want to add milk into it or something." I pointed out before he had time to take his first sip. "It's bad enough with milk and if you're going to drink it like that.. well I wish you wouldn't."

Sora blinked a few times and looked almost relieved when he put the cup aside and took out the milk from the fridge. After replacing the milk on its place in the fridge, Sora finally got the courage to take his sip. A few seconds passed as he tried to decide upon the taste, but soon he was unmistakably frowning. I couldn't help but laugh at his extremely dissatisfied expression. Sometimes he could be so adorably clueless and funny that he made me want to hug and squeeze him all senseless.

"Sora, what are you doing?" I asked when I saw him adding something into the coffee. I couldn't tell what it was, since he had his back turned towards me.

"I'm adding sugar to this. It should be a lot better now, don't you think?" Sora replied.

Sugar?

"God, no! Sora, it's going to taste even worse now!" I exclaimed, horrified at first, until I burst out laughing again when he turned around to face me, eyes wide. He was looking down at the cup of coffee with a downright fearful expression, as if it was dog food he was supposed to eat. Soon though, he either couldn't hold back his laughter, and we both ended up laughing hard at the sugar-and-milk-drenched coffee. I can tell you the whole thing wouldn't have been so funny if it wasn't that it was Sora I was together with right now. How come just being a certain someone can change your mood so much?

"Now give me here that semi-poison so I can finish it off some time." I said and grabbed the white mug from Sora's hands. I forced all of it down at once, trying not to concentrate on the awful bittersweet taste. I put the mug back on the table and wrinkled my nose once again due to the horrible taste. Sora giggled and dragged me back to the living room and the video games. Apparently he hadn't given up on defeating me yet.

"You still don't believe me when I say I'll always win?" I asked, letting my hands rest on my hips as I watched Sora dig in the pile of games. He was apparently looking for something at the back of the shelf, standing on knees and hands, back facing towards me.. When I realized what _exactly_ I was staring at, I got a sudden urge to hit myself in the face. Instead, I just turned around and went to stand by the window, trying to find something else to rest my eyes upon. Yeah, yeah, just because I am gay it doesn't mean I've got the hots for Sora.. god no, he would probably never be able to face me again if I told him so. It hasn't even been a week since we met and I'm already acting strange around him.. Well, I would just have to get used to it. Maybe it was just another phase, maybe I would soon learn to think of him as nothing more than a good friend. Besides, Sora might like Kairi or Selphie. I mean, he does hang around with them quite a bit after all...

"Here it is!" I heard Sora exclaim happily and I turned around. Sora crawled back to the huge mess of pillows and gestured me to come to sit beside him. I did my best to push away any previous thoughts I had had, and went to sit down next to the brunette, ready to kick his ass in yet another game.

"This is something you'll never beat me in." Sora said with an evil grin, making me chuckle since that's pretty much what he said every time.

------------

Surprisingly enough, Sora managed to defeat me quite a numerous times during the about two hours we had played this weird game. But, as I already stated; it was weird. I didn't like the view of the camera one bit, and all those sudden reaction combos were just too weird. The only good thing about the game was the art; hell yeah, it was awesome. Sort of dark and mysterious, but not like scary or gloom in any way. I guessed it had to be the reason why Sora had bought the game to begin with.

"See? There's still something I can beat you in." Sora stated proudly while putting down the controller on the floor. He lazily stretched his back while digging his mobile phone from his pocket to examine the clock. "Whoa, can you believe we've been playing for four hours straight?!"

"Sora, there are times when I've played all day. And by that I mean like, let's say, seven hours without taking a single break." I said, remembering those lazy summer days when school work wasn't there to always bother you. How much wouldn't I give to have back that freedom.

"So anyway you little geek, what about we-"

"..Did you just call me a _geek_? And.. and a _little_ one for that matter?!" I interrupted Sora, trying to look pissed but I couldn't hide the little smile tugging at my lips. I moved a little closer to Sora, so he would be within reach for my little revenge. In other words, the tickle-attack-of-doom.

"Err.. noo.. I mean, it was.. sort of.. an accident.." Sora said while trying to hold back his laugh. He moved a little further away the closer I got, until I jumped him and tackled him down onto the floor.

"Nyaaaagh! Ri-kuuuu!!" Sora yelped when I started to poke him in the sides making him squirm like a fish thrown up on land. I climbed on top of him to keep him in place (oh joy these wonderful excuses for doing things like this) and started to tickle him even more. Sora tried his best to wiggle his way out, but failed miserably.

"Riku -pant- St -laugh- stop! STOP -gasp- it!! P -laugh- Please!" Sora tried to speak between his laughs and gasps for air. I found it highly amusing to watch the little brunette pleading on the floor like this.

"Not before you take back what you said!" I told him.

"Okay!" He gasped, "I'll take it back!"

I stopped tickling him, being too proud of my little victory to realize Sora was still trapped under me. I suddenly remembered Sora had yet to tell me what movies we were going to watch.

"Err, Riku, cou-"

"Sora, how about you finally tell me which movies you decided us to watch? I'm assuming you don't want to play more video games?" I said, removing myself from Sora, letting him free again. He immediately bounced up, as if he just had heard he had won a lifetime of ice-cream.

"Oh! I'll go get the movies right away! Be right back!" He spoke cheerfully and bounced out of the room. I walked over to the window and removed the curtains so I could see outside properly. Everything about this still seemed a bit unreal, but all in a good way. I had planned to ask Sora about why he knew me later at night. You know, when you're all sleepy and stuff, you just don't think about what you're saying that much. It's like, you're not afraid of showing your feelings and stuff, like you might be at daytime. Things just feel a bit less uncomfortable when you're all groggy, I guess. After all, I had the right to know about this.. You know, it really _did_ concern me too.

But as much as I would wish that was the only thing on my mind for now.. Well, it wasn't. There was something else, which I could only blame myself for, that was causing me a headache as soon as I started to think about it. And it was concerning nothing less than my feelings for a certain brunette. Every time I catch myself thinking like this, I get angry at myself. And to make matters even worse, I don't even know how to describe these feelings I have for him. It isn't love, no, I've been in love a few times and it definitely wasn't like this. Because when you're in love, you get all light-headed and happy and you do stupid things, right? But this just wasn't like that. So, now we're back to square one; I don't know how to describe this. Is it wrong to feel desire towards someone who supposedly is your friend? Because, every time I think _that_ kind of thoughts about Sora, I feel like the most horrible friend ever and I hate myself for it. But.. how do I put this? I get turned on as hell. Well, it could be just because Sora happens to have quite the looks for being a boy.. but still. It's _wrong_. I don't want to be like this. It just feels like my head is a mess of six-hundred and thirty millions of thoughts and feelings all mixed up in one, and I'm drowning in all of them before I even know where I am. Frustrated? Yeah, maybe that's what I am.

"Whaat the hell.." I heard Sora complain as he entered the room, shoulders hanging down as if he was really disappointed. "I can't find the DVD's! They've.. completely.. vanished into the void!"

I turned around and absently let my fingers brush through my hair.

"Sora, things can't just disappear like that. I'm sure you've just-"

"No! I looked everywhere! I mean it! E-ve-ry-where.They're just _gone_! No traces left anywhere, no nothing.." He mumbled and dug his face into his hands.

"Sora, calm down, it's not the end of the world." I said and grabbed his shoulders. "We can do something else instead, and who knows, maybe your DVD's will show up eventually."

After a short moment of silence, Sora seemed to brighten up considerably.

"I know!" he said and looked up, his face now being disturbingly close to mine. Ugh. "We can go make waffles! I'm soooo hungry right now!"

He happily skipped into the kitchen again. It was a wonder how quickly he could regain his mood, really. But I guess that's a good thing, because it would be awkward, to say at least, to have a sad Sora drooping around all day. No, that would be really bad. I completely prefer him being happy at any circumstances.

------------

_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

I twirled around in the kitchen, digging out any ingredients required to make waffles while Riku sat at the table watching me with an amused expression. Okay, maybe I was once again being awfully bouncy and cheerful, but hey, is there something wrong about being happy? Who knows, maybe the whole world will come crashing down tomorrow and all happiness will be wasted. But really, I don't like being sad, even though I sometimes can't help being.

"Sora, how much sugar are you planning to put into those? 'Cause I highly doubt you'll need any more of that.." Riku said, rising his eyebrow but still smiling.

"Riikuu, I don't get sugar high that easily! You'd have to feed me with sweets all day.. I'll just put a _little_ more than it says in the recipe, okay? " I said and gave him my cutest pout, hoping he wouldn't mind me adding a bit more sugar to the waffles.

"Whatever. Maybe it would be fun to see you on a sugar-high anyway." He replied while leaning his arms on the back support of the chair.

See? My pout always works. It worked when I chose my room, too. And that time when my mom didn't want to buy me that huge teddy bear.. Okay, that's another story.

"Well, I told you you would have to feed me with sweets all day." I said and gave him a big grin before I went back to mixing up the ingredients.

When I was done with the dough (a/n: I'm not even sure whether you can use that word for it..) and just about to start looking for the waffle iron, I felt someone stand very close to me. I was just about to turn around when Riku's hand caught my attention. He dipped his finger into the dough and put it into his mouth to have a taste of it. For a few seconds he just sucked his finger, tasting the sugary stuff, until he furrowed his eyebrows and removed the finger from his mouth. I couldn't hold back a small giggle when I saw his expression.

"..A _little_ more sugar? Dear friend, does this thing consist of _anything else_ but sugar?" Riku said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Let me see that recipe.. Wait.. Sora's waffles? So that means they, by default, include a hundred times more sugar than any normal waffles do?"

I wasn't just giggling anymore, nope, more like roaring with laughter.

"It's not _that_ bad, Riku!" I said, trying to calm down my laughing. "Besides, it'll taste a whole lot different once they are ready. I promise."

"You'd better keep your promise.." Riku said, still not looking very convinced, but he would just have to live with it.

I had to practically dive into one of the closets to find the waffle iron, which was put at the very back of the closet in the corner. God, why can't my mom keep these useful things at close reach?

Once the iron got hot, I poured some of the dough into the form. Both me and Riku stood close by, patiently waiting for the waffle to be ready as if it was the highlight of the whole evening. A few minutes later the waffle iron gave a faint beep, signaling that the waffle was ready. I quickly lifted it off to the plate nearby, while Riku ripped off a small bit to have a taste of it. He let it cool down a bit before he put it into his mouth. He chewed slowly with a thoughtful expression before dipping his finger into the dough again to compare the tastes. I tried to smile innocently, realizing he wouldn't notice any difference between the final and semi-final waffle.

"Okay, they do taste different." Riku said, surprising me somewhat. "The difference is, the dough tastes like plain sugar and the waffle tastes like burnt sugar."

For a short while I just stood there watching him, trying to figure out whether I should laugh or run and hide. But then I got a better idea. I secretly dipped my whole hand in the bowl nearby and smeared the slush across Riku's cheek. I watched him with a big amused grin, because really, it's not every day you see that annoyingly perfect face covered in food.

"..You did _not_ just smear that stuff on my cheek." He said with an evil glint in his eye. Before I knew of the word, he had reached out for the flour and dumped a handful right down in my precious hair.

And so the food war to death had begun, leaving the poor waffles forgotten for a while.

------------

(A/N: Dialogue, anyone? XD)


	11. Chapter 10

**God I'm so so very sorry for the wait!! I feel horrible! TTATT You know, shit happens and I've been locked inside a hospital or whatever it is.. And I'm only allowed to visit home every second weekend and there's just too much happening right now ;;**

**Becca86:** Sora has his special recipes ;D Oh and, don't worry. Riku wont be in denial for too long! 8D

**taru taru animegal:** Aww, thank you a buch lot-ness! w I'll try my best to not let you down!

**OctoberVampireGirl:** Wow it feels like you're reading my mind Oo" I was actually planning that XD

**PhinMaginONLY:** It's gonna happen soon ;D;D Even I get frustrated on myself when it's taking me so long lol XDXDXD

**Captara:** Thank you sooo much for your reviews 3 I sorta liked Kairi in KH1 but when I played KH2 I was like.. tearing my hair out when she showed up lol XD I think it would be fun if they added a food-fight minigame into KH3 if it's ever going to be released 8D (oh and did I mention it would be fine if it was fangirls-only rated too? XD

_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

About five minutes later both of us were stained with all sorts of ingredients. I had flour in my hair, liquid honey in my neck, stains of waffle dough on my shirt.. and probably something else too, but I can't tell what. At least you get my point? Good, because now I really want to wash away this stuff. I don't think Riku would mind a shower either.

"Okay Riku, what about we just get some sandwiches to fill our hungry tummy's with and take a shower to wash away all this mess?" I asked while examining some of the stains on my shirt.

"You bet. I'm glad I decided to bring a change of clothes with me, I swear yours would have been ridiculously small on me." Riku replied, pulling his hair back out of his smirking face.

Why do people always tease me about my height? Or why say people when no one but Riku has brought up the whole topic lately. Which reminds me about what happened last Tuesday.. Wait, why am I still thinking about it?! I already told myself it was nothing!

"So.. Who's gonna go first?" Riku asked, bringing me back to earth. I hope I hadn't been standing motionless for too long. Might seem a little.. weird..

"Oh, right! Well you see, we've got one shower upstairs and another one downstairs, so there shouldn't be a problem.. Hehe.." I said and went to get towels for both of us and sent Riku upstairs.

I happen to keep my hair products in the bathroom downstairs, in case someone wanted to know. Which makes me wonder how Riku manages to keep his hair so shiny and downright flawless. I hate the way this sounds but.. I've always wanted to feel his hair. Please don't throw cake at me! At least I'm being honest! But really, I've never had the courage to ask him.. I mean, Riku, he just is that cool type and it makes me feel like I'm stupid. Okay, enough of this. I'm being a real retard about such a small thing.

* * *

_(Riku's p.o.v.)_

I'm not sure why, but showering here, knowing Sora is downstairs – undressed of all matters – it makes me nervous. With a capital N. I feel like a sick pedo. Wow, that's probably even what I come off as. But maybe it's normal to be like this.. it could be possible, really. But I'll never let Sora know whatever fantasies I have in my head. He IS my best friend.. but maybe it's better if I still don't tell him quite _everything_.

But it's like, sort of subconsciously, I just choose my clothes and listen to music and other things on basis what I think Sora would like. Just suddenly, being friends with someone has become so.. unclear. I can't tell apart what is an healthy friendship.. and what is not. Where does the line go? What are the definitions of a friendship anyway? Damn, has it ever been this hard to determine a friendship? And it's like, the more I think of it, the blurrier it all becomes. Yet, I can't help but wonder.

At last, I decided it was time to snap out of my daydreams and I stepped out of the shower. I took a quick look in the mirror above the sink and pulled a few wet bangs out of my face. My eyes fell upon the white towel Sora had given me earlier. I picked it up without really knowing what I was doing and held it close, inhaling every little scent in it. It smelled like vanilla and cinnamon – just like Sora. I tried to not let my thoughts wander their own ways as I wrapped the towel around my waist and went downstairs to get my hairbrush.

When I was a few steps away from my bag I got the feeling someone was looking at me. I turned around to find Sora's eyes resting upon me, but he turned his face away as soon as I noticed him. He had already gotten fully dressed in a pair of tight light blue jeans and a loose white tee-shirt. Did I mention he looks fairly damn good in those?

"Uum.. Sorry, I didn't know you were here!" Sora said, fidgeting the hem of his shirt like a little girl.

"No need to be sorry." I said, and Sora finally got the courage to look my way again. "I was just getting my hairbrush."

"Oh.." He replied, and suddenly his face lit up as if he had seen the prettiest Christmas tree ever. "Would you mind.. I mean.. Could I brush your hair? I've always wanted to feel it." Sora finished with a shy smile.

I'm not sure whether to do a victory dance or get scared away. Folks, I'm only wearing a towel. No, I'm serious, I need to get some clothes.

"Yeah sure, that's okay with me. I'll just go get dressed first." I said and got an eager nod from Sora.

I went back upstairs and put on clean clothes. My beloved black pants luckily hadn't gotten stained during our food war. I decided to wear them along with a cherry red shirt. I wonder if I look good enough in these. Wait – where did that come from? I'm hopeless! Of course I look good, I'm Riku and I look good in everything, period. Now destination number two – downstairs. I only made it halfway to the kitchen when I felt someone jump me and throwing me into a bear hug.

"Take cover!" Sora exclaimed and then happily concluded that I'm too slow for him. I'm going to have to admit that though – I've never met anyone as hyperactive as Sora sometimes can be.

"Okay, sit down on the pillows so I can brush your hair now." Sora commanded and took the hairbrush into his hand.

I situated myself at Sora's feet and decided I'd take a glaring competition against my hands. I had to think of something else but Sora's hands gently touching my hair. Oh yes, did I mention how interesting this old ring I happen to have is? It was a really spectacular story, I remember every little part of it when.. my mum happened to find it and gave it to me. Finito. Nope. But you know, hands are really a fascinating part of the body, I mean, seriously. Have you ever really thought about how we actually have _five _fingers on one hand, not just three or maybe seven. And the thumb is like, the most handy thing ever. You know, it would be hard-

"..Riku? You're not listening at all!" I heard Sora exclaim from behind me.

Dang, I suck at this.

"Sorry, Sora. I just.. spaced out for a moment I guess." I replied, mentally slapping myself for not listening to him.

"Well good that you're back to earth now." Sora chuckled. "I said that I found the movie I wanted us to watch! Can you believe, I had put it on the TV so that I could easily find it but – no! I had completely forgotten where I had placed it!"

"So.. are you now going to tell me what movie it is that we're going to watch?" I asked, happy that the earlier topic was safely dropped.

"Yup! Here, take a look!" Sora replied, handing me the DVD case.

"Tonari no.. Totoro? Err.. What the hell is this big fat thing?!" I grumbled, studying the case closely.

"Hey, don't you know the saying 'Don't judge a book by its appearance'? It's a really good movie, I fell in love with it the first time I saw it! Man, to think someone has the imagination to make up such a nice story.." Sora said with a dreamy look on his face.

"..Right. So when are we gonna watch it?"

"Now." He replied, stood up and walked into the TV room.

_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

No matter how many times I watch Totoro, I still like it as much as before. I love the easy and happy atmosphere and the artwork is so nice, too. I wouldn't mind living in a world like Mei and Satsuki. I guess I can't say the same for Riku though – he was sighing and complaining all the way through the movie. But that's just Riku being his old self, I guess.

"So.. what'd you think?" I asked and reached out to grab some candy.

"Well, I have to admit it was a pretty nice story.. but I don't get why we're watching children's movies." Riku replied and rose an eyebrow.

"Oh come on, Riku! You know you like it!" I laughed and threw him into a big hug.

I don't know why but when I get sugar high I like to hug people a lot. And it's even more fun hugging Riku, because he's usually so cool and it's just fun to make him uncomfortable. It's almost as if I have him pleading to stop, and it makes me laugh only harder. It's fun to feel you actually can beat such a perfect being in something.

"Gee Sora, what's up with that big grin on your face?" Riku asked and poked my tummy.

"Riku.." I said, becoming very serious all of a sudden, "We are best friends, aren't we?"

"Of course we are. I'll be anything you want me to be", Riku replied and gave me a warm smile.

I smiled faintly back at him, wondering whether I should tell him the story behind me knowing him for so long. But when I saw his expression slowly turn worried I realized the last thing I wanted was to bring up my dark past to him. I'd rather see that selfish and cocky Riku I know him as. I didn't want to burden him with something that didn't really matter anymore.

"Sora? Is something wrong?" He asked, shifting his position slightly.

"Nope, nothing at all." I said and gave him a big toothy grin. Even though we're best friends, I'd rather wait with telling him the whole story.

"So.. what do we do now? It's still far too early to go to sleep." Riku spoke and turned to sit face to face with me on the couch.

"Humm.. I know! Let's play a little game. Both of us get to ask one question in turn, and the other has to answer honestly." I suggested.

"Sure. Why not." Riku replied. "So who's gonna ask first?"

"Me of course. I came up with the idea." I said and couldn't help but grin widely. Riku snorted in reply but seemed to accept it nonetheless.

"So uum.." I said frowning, trying to think of something to ask. "Well uh, what's your favorite time of the year?"

Lame I know. Just gotta start up with anything random to warm up.

"Autumn, definitely. I like the red and orange shades in the nature." Riku concluded, not appearing to have problems with deciding. "So.. my turn now. Err.. Your favorite color?"

"Favorite color? Well.. I think that's gotta be silver. I've always liked silver.." I said, realizing something important as soon as I had gotten my sentence said.

Too bad, Riku noticed what I sorta wish he hadn't. He rose an eyebrow and pulled out a few silver bangs from behind his ear and I could see a smirk making its way to his lips. So much for thinking twice before you say something.

"Well, that means were even now. You know, since your eyes are blue and my favorite color happens to be blue." Riku said, his confident smirk still evident on his face.

"Sure." I said, but I couldn't help but feeling that ever so annoying heat rising to my cheeks. I tried to cover my blush with my hands but I'm afraid it got even more obvious. Bleh. "Okay, let's see.. Hum, the weirdest thing that ever happened you?"

"Weirdest thing?" Riku thought aloud and suddenly started laughing. "You. Definitely."

"Hey!" I exclaimed, trying to look offended. "Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?"

"Yeah, try that. I could say you're the weirdest but also the best thing that has ever happened to me." Riku replied and gave me a friendly smile.

At that very moment I felt like I had been filled with some sort of warm and soft stuff and I probably didn't look half different either. No one had ever said such a nice thing to me before – in fact – I was almost unsure about how to react. But hell – little did I think just a few nice words could feel so wonderful. I got the feeling this was a moment I wouldn't be able to forget even if I wanted to, because it really meant a lot to me. It meant a lot to me because it was Riku, and no one else, who had said those very words to me.

"Thanks." I said and smiled back genuinely.

After a while of playing this pointless but fun get-to-know-each-other game, both of us were very tired and we decided to go to sleep. At least I had gotten to know Riku even better, and I guess I could say the same for him too. After brushing teeth and changing into pyjamas both of us went upstairs and into my room.

"So uhh.. where do I sleep?" Riku asked looking sort of confused as he could only find one place to sleep in my room.

Yup – it's gonna be that.

"Here with me, of course!" I exclaimed and jumped onto my soft bed. "Best friends don't need separate beds, right?"

"..Right. Well I'm not responsible if I happen to shove you off the bed when I'm sleeping." Riku said and grinned widely.

"Oh you wouldn't dare to!" I laughed and threw a pillow at Riku, but he managed to catch it before it hit him.

I went to turn off the lights and then dug myself comfortably under the large duvet next to Riku. My eyelids slowly started to feel heavier and heavier but just when I was about to fall asleep I felt Riku sit up. Apparently I was the only one who was _really_ tired. I looked up at him, half expecting him to say something, but when he didn't, I decided I could as well just ask.

"Is something wrong? Or aren't you tired yet?" I asked sleepily, dragging myself up on my elbows.

"Don't mind me. I'm used to having problems falling asleep." Riku replied, staring right into the wall and not even glancing my way once.

He was sort of acting weird, but I was too tired to be bothered to try to persuade him to talk. But when I finally had dug my head comfortably into my pillow Riku finally decided to speak up.

"Sora.. have you ever been in love with someone? Like, seriously in love?" He asked, looking down at his hands, making it hard for me to determine his expression as his silver bangs covered the most of his face.

Wow. What a question to ask.

"In.. love? Well, um.. I don't know." I replied, shuffling through my past memories and trying to remember any moments when I could have felt love towards someone. "I'm not sure.. what it feels like. It's hard to tell. I think I used to have a slight crush on Naminé back in Traverse Town.. but.. it wasn't very serious, you know."

Riku hummed something in response, still looking at his hands. "It might be hard sometimes.. but I think that once you understand what you feel is love.. then it's _real_ love."

"Wow Riku... I didn't know you had such a romantic side too." I said, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the subject, but of course, trying my best to hide it. "So.. who is this lucky person that caught your eye, hm?"

A short silence followed by a snort and a "I wonder." was all I got for an answer. Talk about getting me curious.

"Oh come on!" I exclaimed, suddenly not feeling the slightest sleepy. "You know you can tell me! We're best friends, I promise I wont think that-"

"And what if you will?" Riku said with a sharp voice, startling me a bit. Then he sighed and finally laid down on the bed again. "Sorry. I just – I don't feel like talking about it right now. I'll tell you some day." He spoke softly and gave me a smile that looked almost sad.

I desperately wanted to ask him what was wrong and hell I was curious, but I decided to drop the topic since Riku didn't seem very eager to continue with it. Besides he had said he would tell me some day, and that was enough.

"Good night, Sora." I heard Riku whisper, and I turned to lay face to him.

"Good night, Riku." I murmured and gave him a warm smile, before I closed my eyes again and drifted into dreamland.


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: I'm horrible! You may hang me and shoot me and burn my dead body! D': I really really wanted to update sooner, but for some reason, I'm completely stuck with this story ; I'll try to make up for it the best I can!! And once again, I'm sorry!

* * *

_(Riku's p.ov.)_

I had no idea for how long I had been awake, but I was sure it had to be at least a couple of hours. My eyes had long ago gotten used to the dark, but I couldn't see that much of my surroundings anyway. The ticking of the wall clock was becoming highly unnerving along with Sora's faint, regular breaths. Or let's just say the mere presence of him was _terribly_ unnerving. Don't think I wasn't prepared for something like this – hell – I _knew_ I'd have trouble falling asleep if Sora and I would be sleeping in the same room. But – same bed? I can't say it hadn't crossed my mind, but I thought it was just another aspect of my wishful thinking. Now I sort of wish it had been, because saying this was working horribly would be an insulting understatement. I had oh so many times tried to lay still, eyes closed, and patiently waited for sleep to take over. But such a luxury was apparently banned from me. Hah. And that sleeping beauty next to me wasn't making things one bit better. I found myself wanting to nuzzle into his soft hair, wrap my arms around his lithe body and just drift off to dreamland, yet, at the same time I wanted to shake him awake and ask him how the hell he could just sleep so peacefully when I couldn't do nothing but lay here awake hour after hour, tossing around. Life just never could be fair for once.

I sighed for probably the hundredth time and turned around to lay face to face with Sora. I carefully studied his girlish face, _once again_, may I add, paying attention to his dark, thick eyelashes and his perfectly rounded cheeks. I noticed that he looked even more girlish in the dark – hell – if I hadn't known he was a boy I would probably have mistaken him for a girl right now. I slowly reached out a hand to pull a few annoying strands of hair out of his face. Sora laid completely still and quiet, so I assumed he was dreaming some soothing and pretty dreams. I, on the other hand, hadn't had the bliss to dream a single 'soothing' or 'pretty' dream in a good while. No wait, scratch that, of course they were pretty. All they ever were was of Sora. Not that I'm complaining though.. I mean, even if I never am able to get close to Sora in _that_ way in reality.. at least I have my dreams. But let's just skip the details. I don't want to end up having another solo-session in _Sora's bed_, of all places.

Then suddenly – much to my surprise – Sora decided he had laid still for long enough and tossed around for a bit until he curled up into a ball, his face about half an inch from my chest. For a while, all I could do was stare and listen to my suddenly hammering heart. Let's just say I didn't know whether to scoot back or take the opportunity so gracefully offered to me and pull him even closer. Of course I would have settled for the latter if I hadn't been afraid he was awake. That sort of action wasn't really something you could explain as a simple friendly act, not even to someone as oblivious as Sora. I decided to lay still for a moment and watch for any signs of awaky..ness. When he seemed to simply be continuing his peaceful dreams, much to my glee, I decided upon taking the risk. I softly laid my arm around the small of his back and pulled him a little closer. Sort of warily I let my hand rest around his waist, still watching for any signs of Sora waking up. But when nothing happened I let my eyelids slowly fall close, and I'm telling you, falling asleep has never had such a beautiful scent.

I'm such a sap.

Something was definitely wrong. The green nature of Destiny Islands had suddenly become eerily lifeless and silent, and the dark clouds resting over the island were signaling for a heavy storm. The usually so crowded streets in the small city were completely dead. In fact – no matter where on the island I ran to – there was no one. Not a single living creature to be found anywhere. I slowly felt the panic rise in my chest. What had happened? Were my family, were my friends safe and.. Wait – Sora? Where was Sora? God damn it, I _had_ to find him! I had only met him a mere week ago, and there was not a chance I'd give up on our friendship just yet. I ran all the way across the city and to his house as fast as my legs would possibly allow me to run. But, when I finally reached there, no one opened the door no matter how I banged at it. So the island really _was_ completely empty of living people? But how came I was still trapped here? I spotted an open window by the living room and decided to climb in, no matter how rude it might seem. Once inside, I searched through the entire house, every single room and corner, but it was as empty and dead as the rest of the island. My head was spinning at what would seem like completely illegal speed and I found it hard to catch my breath. Yet, I refused to stop searching before I'd find Sora. I ran down to the beach and there – on the small island – I could see him sitting on a branch of a paopu tree. So I wasn't all alone on the island after all. Thank heavens.

I quickly made my way towards Sora, shouting his name, but it seemed like he couldn't hear me. Maybe I was too far away yet. When I was only a few meters away, he jumped down from the branch he had been sitting on and slowly turned around to face me. Awfully slowly, truth be told. It was as if something was hindering him from looking my way. Then suddenly, before I even had time to contemplate on any other things that were so awfully weird and just _off_ in that precise moment, darkness was all around us, and we were.. we were being swallowed into it. I could hear Sora call out my name and reach out a hand towards me. I tired to reach out for his hand too – but something was _undeniably_ wrong. It was as if my body was acting on it's own; my supposed reach-out-to-get-hold-of-Sora's-hand turned out to be me merely holding my hand out a few inches as if I didn't really care if I could reach him. I even noticed my mouth speaking on its own accord – it was as tough all I could do was watch while something else told my body what to do.

"Why are you so scared of the darkness, _So-ra_?"

_What the hell.._? It took a good time for the event to even register in my brain, and for the first time in my life, I felt like I was really out of clues of what to do next. I tried my hardest to move, to say something, just give him any sign it wasn't me controlling my body, but nothing happened. Sora just kept staring at me.

"Oh give me a break_. _Look at me; _I'm_ not afraid."

What the hell is this thing, really? It's gotta be some sort of bad joke, I'm not going to disappear into nowhere with a scared Sora being the last thing I get to see. There's got to be something I can do about this, fate really doesn't hate me this much, now does it?

"..Riku?"

Sora was sinking even deeper into the black void and yet again, all I could do was stand and watch with that awfully cocky smirk plastered on my face.

"..Riku!"

I felt someone's grip on my shoulders and my eyes shot open in an instant to reveal a worried Sora sitting on top of me. It took me a while to realize where I was, until I remembered I had gone over to his house last night and foremost, that the island had _not_ become depopulated nor was some sort of weird darkness pulling some sort of sick tricks on my body. That aside, someone else _sure_ was...

"..Riku? Are you.. awake now?" I heard Sora whisper with concern but I couldn't bring myself to give him an answer, bluntly because Sora was _sitting on top of me_, wearing nothing more than _pajama pants_, in a _dark room_, in his _bed_.. and all I could do was stare up at his worried face. I believe my reaction, or rather, lack thereof, made him only more worried.

"Are you okay?" He asked and moved even closer to my face. _Oh man_.. I groaned mentally and weighed the options of either ravishing him on the spot or just shoving him away to preserve our friendship. But then, on the other hand, isn't these kind of situations exactly what compromises are for? Why choose just either when you can have both? Ok, kinda..

"Hey, answer me please, Riku.." Sora said a little louder and was just about to shake me again when I pulled him flat down against my chest into a tight hug and tried to act scared. For once I was truly thankful Sora didn't know me well enough to know I just _don't get_ scared.

"God, Sora.. I.. I had a horrible nightmare." I complained and buried my nose into Sora's neck. I felt him tense just a slight in my embrace, probably a bit stunned due to my sudden outburst. He tried to get up on his elbows but I refused to let him go and hugged him even tighter. Eventually, Sora gave up and leaned his head against my chest. What did it hurt that I had to pretend just a bit, now that I could have him on top of me like this? Oh, the glory..

"I figured so much." Sora murmured under his breath, whilst a faint blush covered his round cheeks. "You were talking and gripping the bed sheets in your sleep.."

Whoops. I didn't know I was such a restless sleeper.

"Yeah.." I offered lamely, loosening my death grip around Sora, just a bit. "Haven't had a nightmare for quite some while.." I concluded aloud, definitely not able to remember the last time I had actually had a nightmare. Probably when I was a kid, anyway. "I.. I dreamed that the whole island was completely dead – there wasn't anyone, not anywhere. And there just was this weird atmosphere resting over the island, and well, everything was just so off. I suddenly got this strong feeling I had to find you, so I started to search for you with no avail, until I finally found you at the beach. But just as I was about to approach you there suddenly was this weird.. darkness all around us, and we were being swallowed into the depths of it. It was taking you away from me, and I wanted to reach out and get a hold of you, but my body wasn't obeying me. I thought the last thing I'd get to see would be your eyes filled with fear" I explained, slowly realizing how stupid the whole thing sounded when told. I hoped Sora wouldn't remember half of it by the morning.

"It's okay, Riku. In reality, darkness can't do something like that." Sora spoke, a dazed smile gracing his lips. Oh Sora, I'm not _that_ stupid...

I hummed something in response, and tried to relax again, as much as you possibly could when your crush was actually laying on top of you. Like that we lay still for a while, and I kept my arms safely woven around Sora's back in fear that he would pull away and break the magical feeling of the moment. If I could have chosen, I would never had let him go. Okay, maybe that was overdoing it a bit seeing my back would probably have stared aching from lying for so long, but.. this just felt so nice for once. I slowly let my fingers trace random patterns on Sora's naked back. Cautiously I lowered my hands inch by inch down his back, almost dangerously close to the line of his pants. I gently let my fingers run along his side, and much to my surprise, making him shudder. That familiar heat was taking over my body again – though, this time I didn't only imagine Sora was there. I felt him tense I tilted my head slightly so that I was practically breathing onto his neck.

"R-Riku?" Sora whimpered and I snapped back to reality in a matter of seconds. Okay. What_ exactly _was I thinking? Shit.. really, _shit_, how do you explain something like this??

"Oh, sorry." I just stated simply, trying my best to look like I had no idea what I had been doing. Which was true.. at least to some extent. I removed my hands from his back and offered a gentle smile while I watched as a scorching red Sora removed himself from my chest. Damn, I was missing the warmth of him already. I rolled over to face him keeping up my cool facade, and for once it was my turn to act oblivious. I didn't want to risk our friendship yet, and more than that, I didn't have any sort of clue what kind of feelings Sora held towards me. Right now waiting just seemed like the right option.

"Goodnight, Sora." I murmured before I closed my eyes, innerly hoping that Sora would think I fell asleep and not bring up the previous matter to a discussion. I did so _not_ need to be reminded about my horrible self-control.

"..Good night." Sora echoed and I could practically feel him laying down and closing his eyes too.

I'm telling you, I've had some _damn_ luck to have gotten this far without having to explain a shit. And I had _damn_ better develop some self-control if I had any desire to stay friends with Sora. Not like I would ever be able to see him just as a friend again.. but I'd rather he'd think of me as a friend than an enemy. Once our friendship was a little stronger and a little more unfaltering I would maybe be able to get close to him without having to fear he wouldn't forgive me if something went wrong. It's not like Sora seemed like the unforgiving kind, but I still preferred to remain somewhat unobtrusive in the beginning. It's not like I wouldn't have time.

_(Sora's p.o.v.) _

Ever had the feeling that you're just feeling too much to even say you're feeling anything in particular? I have no idea what I should think anymore, no actually, I don't even have a clue what in the sweet heavens I _am_ thinking! But that's not confusing me even half as much as is what _Riku_ may be thinking is. It _could_ be that I never really knew him to begin with, but.. I think he's acting a bit strange. That.. I mean.. he wasn't just _accidentally_ touching me, was he? Or maybe he didn't actually mean anything by it.. Could it just have been a friendly act? He didn't seem like he was trying to get onto something after all. Or am I just being oblivious? Which is it?? I'm totally clueless. I feel like I don't know anything.. except that it just felt awfully nice. Err, don't get me wrong! It's not particularly because it was Riku doing it, I was just.. really unprepared, yeah.

In the end, I concluded I had better get my mind this little event slip and quit thinking about it. As much as I wanted to ask Riku, I was still sort of afraid he hadn't meant it _that_ way. Nor was I willing to admit that I actually liked it.. And besides, eventually, I would come to find out his true intentions. All I had to do was.. well, wait and see, I guess. That seemed good enough. As for myself.. Well, I had never really had anyone whom I held close like I hold Riku, sooo... I'm not really sure what you're supposed to feel towards best friends anyway. I have several times heard best friends state they love each other and they have all sorts of cozy sleepovers and whatnot. To me it has just always been like.. like, I don't need anyone else as long as Riku is with me. I felt this way even before we moved to Destiny islands, so I guess it doesn't count as a crush? And in case it did, then it would mean.. that I'm.. gay. No, wait, that isn't it.. right? Or.. I thought I was attracted to girls? But on the other hand, when had I _ever_ felt attracted to a girl? Well... Well never. I had liked Naminé but.. I never felt attracted to her. Maybe what I desired was actually just a simple friendship? But once again, at which point does friendship count something as something deeper? Or could you possibly be best friends with your lover too? Ah, I'm just thinking in circles.

Saturday had passed by quickly along with the rest of the weekend, without any further strange situations between me and Riku. I do have to admit that during the week I caught him a few times watching me with that weird look in his eyes. I couldn't exactly tell what it was.. But Riku really could be a bit mysterious at times, which only made him the more interesting.

On Thursday afternoon, after Riku already had gone home due to his unfairly short day, I sat outside on the grass talking random life with Kairi and Selphie until the girls managed to turn the conversation into something less relaxing.

"Soo, Selphie.. I heard you're going out on a date with Tidus tomorrow?" Kairi said in a sing-sang voice, raising an expecting eyebrow at said friend, only to receive a few giggles and a blush from the other girl.

"Well.. yeah, we are.." Selphie admitted and shyly spun a lock of hair around her finger. It was definitely unusual to see the always so hyperactive girl suddenly turn this timid. Well, love does strange things to you, from what I've heard..

"Oh my, so it _is_ true! Aww Selphie, I'm so happy for you!" Kairi exclaimed and clasped her hands together her face wearing a dreamy expression. "I bet it's going to be really romantic.." She added with a soft smile, looking far off into the distance.

I settled upon not joining the conversation, for several reasons actually, mainly being that I had no experience with these things whatsoever and secondly because I recently just couldn't tell if I was straight anymore or not. I didn't want to dub myself as bi either, because for some reason I was sure that I'm either gay or straight, not something in between. Just a feeling in my gut, I guess..

"Thanks.." Selphie murmured offhandedly, when her eyes suddenly lit up and she seemed to regain her true colors. "Which reminds me.. Why aren't you dating someone, Kairi? I bet there's a hundred of guys after you! Or could it be that.. oh _my_, you already have your eyes on someone? Who is it? Oh god Kairi, you have to tell me! That guy's gotta be the luckiest in the world!" She went on, currently clinging to Kairi's arm as if to demand her to tell everything on the spot.

Somehow, I had expected Kairi to just laugh and say there wasn't really anyone, but she did, much to my surprise blush and only gave a faint nod to answer Selphie's suspections. I was quietly surveying the situation until I slowly became aware of the awkward silence that was hanging in the air and a pair of intense purple eyes staring straight at me.

People may call me oblivious and _maybe_ I sometimes am, but not oblivious enough to not catch upon the hint. Before the situation would turn any more awkward than it already was, I jumped up on my feet, and pretended to be in some sort of hurry.

"I just remembered I have to get my books from my locker!" I squeaked, wanting nothing more than just get away from those stares. "See you later girls, and good luck with your date Selphie!" I shouted over my shoulder as I waved them off, hurriedly making my way inside and straight into the bathroom.

I know it's about everything but manly to run away from a situation like that, but what difference does it really make when people never consider me manly anyway. Besides, I did not feel like I wanted to be caught up in another romantical mess, seeing as Riku already gave me far more to ponder about than my poor head could handle. Although I had to admit it was sort of nice to actually get acknowledged by the people around me, something I had pretty much never been back in Traverse town. If people ever payed attention to me back then, it was merely because they thought I was weird.

I was thankful to discover I didn't have lesson together with either Selphie or Kairi, because, as you probably would have guessed already, I didn't feel like being around them just for now. Mostly because I felt stupid for running away like that, but also because I really _really_ didn't want to continue the earlier conversation.

But either way, it really seemed like what you left behind you would only crawl up to bother you once again. When Selphie approached me in the pretty much empty hallway I already knew she wasn't coming over to just babble about her random nonsense. She wore an undeniably serious expression and she kept her voice rather low, something she just _never_ did.

"You know Sora.. I'm just gonna be really blunt and ask you something and I hope you're not going to be offended if I sound rude." Selphie said, her green eyes locking upon mine as she gently leaned against the lockers next to us.

I knew this was coming, so I took a deep but silent breath and gave a nod as to accept what she had said.

"Do you have something against Kairi, or are you really _that_ oblivious?" She sighed, hands folding on her chest.

Okay, so if I knew this was coming, _why_ hadn't I thought up some answer? Oh shit, what am I supposed to say.. I can't tell her about Riku's and my strange friendship. She'll probably just think I'm making up some excuse and running away again. Aaah, I wish I was a smooth talker like Riku.. Wait, why does everything come back to _Riku?_

"Sora? Your cheeks are really red. I mean, you don't have to answer, you know, it's just that I thought you were friends with Kairi and all.."

I need to say something! I don't want to severe my ties with Kairi or the others!

"It's not like that, Selphie..! I just don't.. I... Ilikeguys!" I blurted out, not really realizing what I had said until moments afterwards.

Something is _horribly_ wrong with me, I'm acting like a hormonal teenager. On the other hand, I wish it would be just hormones and nothing chronically wrong with my brain. I just admitted, _aloud,_ that I'm attracted to _guys_. The problem not being that I like guys, but that I admitted it to Selphie even before I had had the time become comfortable with the whole thought myself.

Selphie slowly raised a hand to her mouth, a big grin suddenly gracing her lips.

"Ooooh Sora!" She chimed and threw herself at me, clinging onto my arm just like she had done to Kairi moments before. "You should have told us earlier! No wait, scratch that, I should have realized it!" She continued, bursting into series of giggles, leaving me clueless once again.

"..Realized?" I asked, unable to help the wave of curiosity taking the best of me, forgetting to tell Selphie I was still a bit uncomfortable with the subject in the process.

"So-ra." She giggled and threw me a knowing look and making me feel a tinge of anxiousness. "You _always_ stick around Riku, it's because you _like_ him, don't you?"

I could practically feel all color drain away from my face at that simple question. I looked down at Selphie with wide eyes, but I'm afraid that gave her the opposite impression, so I quickly threw my hands defensively in the air and vigorously shook my head. This conversation was _so_ turning out to what I wished it wouldn't. Another proof that you _shouldn't_ make wishes.

"No, no Selphie! We're just friends! Best friends! It's nothing like _that.._" I trailed off as Selphie continued her giggles, not looking like she believed me in a hundred years.

"That's what they _all_ say, Sora. "We're just friends", god, that's _so_ cliché." She pointed out and poked my nose as if to silence any remaining arguments I possibly held. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Selphie ensured and reached out her little finger.

"It's a pinky promise."

_(Riku's p.o.v.)_

On my way home after a ridiculously short day at school (long live Thursdays!) I came across a _very_ depressed-looking Axel, sitting alone on a bench outside school staring right in front of him but appeared not to really see anything. On top of that music was screaming out of his huge earphones, loud enough for any bypasser to hear. I offhandedly walked up to him and jabbed him in the shoulder, receiving a grumpy look from the redhead before he reluctantly silenced his music and removed his earphones from his ears.

"You look like shit, Axel." I pointed out and arched an eyebrow, expecting some sort of explanation to his downcast mood.

"Thanks for reminding me." He scoffed and glanced away, and I realized something had to be horribly wrong. I had exactly once seen Axel like this before, and that was when he had seen his lifetime love, namely Roxas, kiss another guy.

I sighed and slumped down beside him, deciding it wasn't a very good idea to leave him alone when he was like this. He just is the kind I'm never really able to tell what's on his mind.

"Roxas broke up with me. Said he wasn't gay after all." Axel stated bluntly after a moment of silence, his face remaining completely emotionless.

Someone might think of that as a sign that he doesn't really care, but I knew better. That guy most likely was a mere hair width away from breaking down and throwing himself off a cliff.

"Ow." I grimaced in compassion, trying my best to not say something wrong to tip him over the edge. "I can't even imagine what that's got to feel like.."

Axel simply shrugged and let his gaze wander down to the ground beneath his feet.

"It feels like I've lured him into something he didn't want." Axel admitted dejectedly, drawing random patterns in the sand.

Despite Axel's though looks, he is a really tender person. He's simply the kind that would hurt himself rather than hurt someone around him. Usually he's talkative and he jokes about pretty much everything and probably comes off as a bit care free person who just goes with the flow. Only when something is really at right angles to hell he becomes like this, and that'd be like once every ten years or so. That's why his current state is making me feel all the more worried about what comes next.

"Hey.. Feel like you'd be up for a few drinks?" Axel said and offered a small, dejected smile, and I could almost swear I saw tears twinkling in his green, cat-like eyes.

"Sure." I said, not having the heart to reject his invite, despite the fact I had actually planned to do some schoolwork today. But screw that, right now there were a thousand more important things than some stupid _schoolwork_.

About an hour later I found myself at Axel's apartment, singing some random stupid songs with him, not really caring how horrible my singing had become due to the alcohol. I had tried to keep my drinking within sane amounts, but even I had had a few glasses too much, not to mention Axel. The poor guy had probably drunk twice as much as he could handle. He could hardly even keep his eyes open, let alone walk. He was more like crawling and stumbling around on the floor when he was about to pick up the beer can he had accidentally managed to shove down from the table.

If I hadn't been so intoxicated I would probably have felt bad for how miserable he was, but really, my whole brain was just a fog and I couldn't really make sense of anything. But one thing I knew for sure, and that was that right now, I wanted to punch that Roxas bitch right in the face for making my friend like this. Axel didn't deserve this kind of treatment, only he seemed to blind to realize it himself.

A few moments later I realized Axel had actually fallen asleep on the couch, and I decided it was time for me to leave too. I cleaned up the worst mess caused by our heavy drinking before I left his apartment. My steps were still a bit uneven, so I figured I couldn't go home just yet, seeing my parents would be furious with me if they found out I had been drinking. After a while of weighing my options I settled for going over to Sora's house, since his parents usually never showed up when I was over at his house. Besides, I suddenly felt some odd need to see my little brunette friend, as if I had something urgent to tell him which I really didn't have. In any case, I directed my steps towards his house, and a good twenty minutes later I arrived to his door, pressing the pin-pon button, silently praying Sora would answer the door instead of his parents.

Much to my relief, an always so very wished brunette appeared in the small gap of the door.

"Riku!" Sora exclaimed and opened the door fully and stepped aside. I took it as an invite to enter the household and graciously walked inside.

"Soo um.. what brings you here?" He asked curiously and closed the door behind him.

"Are your parents home?" I questioned, ignoring the fact that Sora was first. Besides, I really didn't want to end up having some nice 'meeting' with them in my current state. Talk about bad first impressions..

"Um, no.. They went shopping." Came Sora's answer, and with that I decided it was safe to walk into the TV room, where we usually would sit on the sofa playing video games. Of course, I would rather have been in Sora's room, but it seemed a bit rude to walk into someone's room just like that..

"Riku, are you okay? You're swaying quite a bit.." I heard Sora point out from behind me, and I felt small knots appearing in my stomach. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea after all..

"Eh. I'm totally fine." I lied, silently praying he wouldn't pry into the subject further.

"You're drunk.. aren't you?" He concluded and stopped walking halfway into the room while I made my to sit down on the couch.

So much for praying to something that isn't even there.

"Axel just happened to invite me drinking. Chill now, boy, don't be angry with me." I replied obediently, suddenly feeling slightly irritated for some unknown reason.

"I'm not angry with you, Riku, I'm just curious to why.." Sora spoke silently and took a seat next to me on the couch.

I decided that, since Sora wasn't angry with me being drunk and all, I could as well just tell him the whole story. So I told him how I had met Axel looking incredibly downcast on my way home, then about the story between him and Roxas and how we finally ended up at Axel's house drinking. I was actually surprised, and happy at that, that Sora actually accepted things so easily the way they were. I could almost have sworn he'd be at least disappointed with me if he knew I had been drinking. But he was actually very understanding.

"Eh.. This might be a little weird question, but I felt I just had to ask.. Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, I sort of expected you to really disapprove of drinking, but you seem just fine with me being slightly drunk and all that.." I questioned him, curiosity getting the better part of me. I just, sort of, felt like I really had to know.

"Well Riku, you are my best friend, you know, since a long time ago." Came Sora's reply, as he offered me a faint smile. _God_, how could someone have such a perfectly cute smile as him? It should be illegal.

"Which reminds me.. you still haven't told me how come you know me since long ago? And how long ago exactly?" I pointed out and shifted a bit so that I was now facing the brunet beauty sitting next to me.

"Oh.. hehe.. That, yeah.." Sora chuckled embarrassedly and scratched the back of his neck whilst looking down in a very Sora-ish manner. "Well I suppose you deserve to know.. since it involves you and all." He added with a distant sigh, and began playing with the hem of his shirt. He seemed to do that a lot when he was nervous.

"So.. I guess it all began when I was about twelve years old. You just.. sort of, appeared from nowhere. Oh god this sounds so stupid, but really, I was completely enthralled by you. I mean, how many people are there really who actually _have_ a.. well, invisible friend or what. I don't know. I loved talking to you whenever I just could, and you were always there to help me with things.. needless to say you were _never_ wrong. Not once." Sora laughed cutely with a hand raised to his lips, and I couldn't help but grin too.

"Of course. I am always right." I commented with a seductive smirk, but Sora just didn't seem to catch up at all.

"Whatever you say." He said and rolled his eyes, the small smile still displaying on his childish features.

Whatever I say? Oh, I wish it _really_ was like that. Imagine, just with a few words I could have him pinned down beneath me moaning and arching into every touch while I kiss him all senseless and- Okay, sidetracked.

"So anyway, despite how wonderful it was to have such a perfect friend who was always there with you, the people around me wouldn't be as supportive of the whole thing.." Sora went on with his story, and thankfully, bringing me back to reality again. "To put it bluntly, people simply assumed that I was sick. Like.. schizophrenic or something. It was really disturbing, but I refused to let you go. I mean.. I don't know what I would have done without you, so I decided to ignore the comments people around would throw at me, until my parents got seriously worried and sent me to a therapist.. or psychologist... or whatever she was. I still don't see the big difference between all those professions.." He mumbled with an awkward laugh. "Her name was Aerith anyway. Eventually we ended up moving to Destiny Islands though, because Aerith said that it might be some sort of trauma from when my real parents died that made me imagine things that 'wasn't really there'. So she suggested we'd move to new surroundings to see if it would help."

Well, this was quite a load of new information for my still a bit alcohol-foggy brain to process. Firstly, how come I had been talking to Sora, yet I hadn't been, because certainly I was not being aware of it and neither could I remember a shit. Secondly, how is something like this _possible_? Isn't these kind of things that weird crap that keeps happening in some horror movies and stuff.. not in _real_ life. And third, Sora's real parents were dead?

"Wow, that's.. quite some story.." Was all I could come up with for the moment, still a bit stunned but happy nonetheless, that Sora finally had told me the story behind it all. "You know, if it wasn't that I already witnessed that first real encounter we had when you asked me all those things that really were true.. I probably wouldn't believe a story like that. It's almost scary." I laughed, hoping Sora wouldn't be offended.

Luckily, he wasn't the kind to get down easily. I liked that about him a lot. No, scratch that, I like everything about him, a lot.

"I know." Sora concurred, seemingly relaxing a bit now that he had let yet another thing into the open air. "I'd probably be scared to if I wasn't so used to it. I still can't believe I actually met you in real life, though. It's like a dream. You have no idea how happy I am to have you." He said with a bright grin taking over his facial features.

I could literally feel my heart warm at that statement.

"You know, Sora, you really mean a lot to me too.." I more so whispered to Sora. M_ore than you'll probably ever know_, I added mentally.

Sora shed a small giggle, but became serious as soon as that, and looked me straight in the eyes with those dark blue eyes, that never ceased to amaze me.

"Sorry to suddenly attack you with a load of questions and new things and all that but.. I've just been wanting to ask you this thing for a while.." Sora spoke, his gaze never once faltering, despite his cheeks gaining a faint red color and his fingers once again fiddling with his shirt's hem. "You know, since you actually are into guys and all that stuff.. I just wonder, how could you just know you were gay? I mean.. didn't you doubt it at all? And like.. well, how could you be so sure of it? I'm sorry if I sound rude, I just rea-"

"It's okay Sora. You're not being rude." I interrupted his ramble and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm not sure though.. it's kind of hard to tell. I did doubt a lot at first. Hell, I bet everyone does. Many times I thought it might just be some phase and that it would go over soon. But when it just continued, and actually, the more I thought about it the more real it seemed.. Well, at some point I realized I'm probably just in denial, and quite frankly, I'd rather admit the truth than just try to fake it to no end. I mean, I had not once been attracted to a girl, so there _had_ to be some reason to it. To be honest, I find girl's bodies highly unpleasant. Not to mention their usual nagging." I finished with a wink which Sora, once again, managed to be completely oblivious to.

It wasn't before then the whole thing actually registered in my brain. Was Sora.. turning _gay_? Because, frankly, I didn't see any other reason for him to ask something like that.. or? But it really could be that he was actually developing attraction to guys. Cause if he was, then it meant I could actually have some chances with him..

"So.. Why'd you ask? Should I assume you are just as gay as I am?" I hummed huskily into his ear, causing him to tense at once. This was actually working.

"N-no..! Or, I mean.. Arh, Riku, I don't know! It's really confusing.." Sora squeaked, his cheeks scorching red as he bit his lip uncertainly.

"Care to find out?" I asked, seductively cocking a brow and leaning a bit closer, making Sora blush even harder. For once he actually caught up on my flirtatious acts.

Gods know what makes me do this. I blame the alcohol.

"W-what do you m-mean..?" Sora stuttered, his hands trembling as he held them close to his chest.

Okay, Riku. _Don't freak out_. Stay cool, take it easy.

..I've _never _been this close to Sora. Not in such a promising situation as this, at least.

"Relax, Sora." I hummed and took his shaking hands into my own. They were just small enough to fit perfectly into my hands. In couldn't help but smile a little at this. "It's just a kiss. I wont do anything you don't want me to." I breathed huskily into his ear, teasingly letting my tongue brush against his earlobe, before I went on and trailed soft, wet kisses along his neck.

"R-Riku.." Sora whispered, his breath hitching as I moved a bit closer to get better access to his neck. I half expected him to pull away and shout at me to get lost and that he never wanted to see me again, half just to sit there confused, but when his small hands reached up and tangled themselves into my hair.. Well. That caught me off guard.

"Sora.." I breathed out and reached up to capture his lips into a bruising kiss. _You have no idea how badly I've wanted this_, I thought, nipping and licking at his soft, puffy lips. My hands reached out to the small of his back and I tugged him yet a bit closer, if possible, eliciting a muffled gasp from Sora.

I took the opportunity and let my tongue enter the hot caverns of his mouth, savoring the feeling of his lips against mine, his hands gently tugging at my hair, his lithe body pinned beneath me..

When air became an issue I reluctantly pulled away to catch a few uneven breaths, as did Sora, his cheeks stained a lovely red as he bit his finger, trying to steady his rapid breaths.

"Sora, I.." I panted, not really sure what to say, but still feeling I had to say _something._

"..Wow.. I guess I really am gay then.." Sora mumbled breathlessly, averting his gaze as he removed the finger from his mouth.

So.. he _did_ like it?

...Well I could either turn this out into a hot make-out session, or I could just apologize for my actions and be a good man.

However, an intoxicated man is never a good man, so to hell with the latter option.

Wordlessly, I locked my lips upon his once again, my tongue immediately gaining access to his mouth this time. I slowly pulled up the hem of his shirt a bit, exposing his bare skin to my touch. This caused Sora to gasp loudly and rock his hips slightly upwards, making his groin grind against mine, and I couldn't help but moan into the kiss.

_Gods_, did he seriously wish to eliminate the last shatters of self-control I had left?

"Sora.. Stop that unless.. you want me to take you right here." I groaned and placed wet, needy kisses along his jaw and neck.

"Sorry.." Sora mumbled incoherently, squirming a bit due to the slightly unfamiliar sensation.

It felt like my whole body was lit on fire, and those moans and mews and every arch into my touches from Sora wasn't making this situation any easier for me. The heat radiating from both our bodies was becoming a real nuisance, and in a matter of seconds I had already removed Sora's shirt and moved my mouth downwards to his collarbone, biting gently at the soft skin. I wandered further downwards, sucking and licking at Sora's nipple, causing him to gasp loudly as he dug his nails into my shoulders.

"Ngh.. Ri..ku." He moaned in a breathless slur, hands reaching down to cup my face and capturing my lips into a shy, yet passionate kiss.

Sora was shy, yes, but I learned he could be an _incredible_ tease if he wanted to. He let his tongue travel feather lightly at the side of my neck and behind my ear, touching a particularly sensitive spot, making me shut my eyes tightly and breathe heavily in his neck. I placed my hands on his hips and pulled him incredibly closer, wanting to feel every last curve of him. I engaged Sora into another heated kiss as I allowed my hands to move slightly farther down, until I was touching the hem of his pants.

Sora broke the kiss and backed a few inches on the couch.

"W-wait, Riku.. I-I'm.." He stuttered and slowly reached up his left hand to wipe off the drool from his chin.

"What, don't tell me you're teasing me like this just to end it right before we get anywhere?" I growled and tried to close the small distance between us, but Sora turned away his gaze, obviously not willing to continue.

"Riku.. I told you, I'm completely new to this and-"

"So am I!" I snapped, sounding far more irritated than I had intended to. I blame alcohol and frustration.

"But at least you've known that you're into guys since like forever!" Sora whined, and I decided it was in vain to try to talk him over this. I could as well just head home and take care of my 'problem' on my own.

I got up from the sofa without another word, making my way out of the household as I heard sora shout "I'm sorry!" behind me.

He caught me eventually, though, gripping my wrist with those small, delicate hands of his and looked up at me almost pleadingly. If I hadn't been so frustrated I would probably have felt sorry for him.

"Really, I'm so sorry Riku! If I had known it mattered so much to you then-" Sora began with a deep uncertainty sparkling in his eyes, but right now I didn't have the desire let myself drown into those blue orbs and whatnot, so I rudely interrupted him instead.

"How can you _not_, Sora?! Isn't it goddamn _obvious_?" I hissed and grabbed his chin to look him deep into the eyes. When I still couldn't see nothing but uncertainty, hell, maybe even fear, I let him go and hissed: "You just don't get anything."

And so I walked away, leaving a confused Sora behind me.

This day had been either the most wonderful or the most horrible day ever. I couldn't tell which. How was it even possible that Sora didn't realize I held more than just friendly feelings towards him, after something like _that_? I was angry at the alcohol, angry at the hormones angry at my terrible self-control, but more that that, I was angry at myself.

I honestly wondered if I could ever be able to fix something like this.

* * *

A/N: Gyah.. Things are happening a bit too fast xO I'm sorry! I just got really frustrated with Sora being completely in denial and Riku just watching from afar.. He's supposed to get what he desires, no? :o Ehh. I can't write make-out scenes. Really. 401 goes emo-mode. LOLS


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Well.. we get to know Sora a bit better? XD uhuhee.. this chapter feels as thick as my samoyed's fur, ROFL! Also, thank you so so very much for all the reviews! I worship you guys..! **

--

_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

I kind of feel like I've been thrown down from heaven straight to hell. Riku's angry with me, it's my fault and I feel like.. I don't even know what. I want to run into my mom's arms and cry the rest of the night because I'm afraid- oh. Well, that's out of question now, because, the case is this; my parents still don't know I've met _my_ Riku. For like, real. So why is their little Sora locked up in his room like he used to be back in Traverse town? Because, "he's having these weird hallucinations about his _invisible friend_." Oh yeah, I am not! I'd be more than happy to bring Riku down here to our house and show him to mom and dad and ask them if maybe they're hallucinating too. But Riku's still angry with me, so there goes that plan.

And just as bad went my Friday at school. Riku didn't even _look_ my way, he avoided our whole group at all costs, well, it's not like I really put that much effort into walking up to him either, but truth be told, I was a bit scared. I haven't seen him angry before. Or not angry with me, at least. On top of that, Selphie threw me those questioning looks all the time, as if to ask what had happened. Apparently no one else really had the courage to talk to him either, Kairi was the only one to exchange a few words with him. She said he seemed really irritated and assumed it would be better to leave him alone. Every lesson went to deaf ears, at least for my part, during lunch I would much rather have left everything uneaten, but I forced myself to swallow it down anyway. I couldn't start to act like an irresponsible teen because of this. Even though it _was_ a big deal, at least for me it was, but skipping lunch wouldn't really make things any better.

Once I arrived home from my unusually tiring day at school, I concluded Riku wasn't going to be the one to take the first step so I figured I had to. I was afraid, as I told you, but nothing could even be _bad_ compared to losing Riku. Only that blockhead just _wouldn't_ realize it. Somehow, it had always been easier confessing things to him when I still hadn't met him in real life. Don't get me wrong; there's no way I would wish that I hadn't met him for real. No way. That's definitely not it. It's just.. Oh god, what am I going to tell him?! Because I think.. that _he _thinks.. that _I_ think he's just a plain friend to me. Best friends, maybe, but I mean really, _really_ best friends for lack of a better word. And yet, there he goes accusing me for not noticing 'obvious' things, but, what? He's not doing any better! Besides, you can still be friends even when you like the other a lot.. And also, I've known him for _years_, I've always been together with him, he's been my one and only friend, he helped me through all the though times, he'd comfort me whenever I was sad, he'd laugh with me whenever I was happy, he always knew the best solution for _everything_, he'd praise me for everything I did well in and we even used to write letters to each oth-

The letters. He hasn't seen any of them yet, right? Yeah. I'm sure he would have asked me something if he had seen them. I rushed over to the box where I stored all of the letters and prayed to heavens the one I was looking for would still be there. It would be a perfect way of explaining things to him, I think. If I would just try to talk some sense into him I'd probably end up saying something completely out of place or maybe I would be too nervous to even produce a single coherent sentence. But this way I wouldn't need to say it. He could read it for himself.

Finally I found the letter I was looking for, and I decided to read it once again to make sure it was the right one and it said exactly what I remembered. As I read on, all of those memories from times back then, things I had almost managed to forget, suddenly seemed to appear right in front of me. Yet all of it still felt so distant and unreal I could have sworn it had just been a dream if there wasn't this evidence. It just seemed so.. out of place. These things don't happen me. The kind of things that supposedly happen to other people, but never, ever yourself. Thankfully, someone who would read this letter wouldn't know what the circumstances were back then. There's no mentioning about those times, no cold facts written down on unforgiving paper – but still – there is this one little thing in this one little sentence.

This one little thing made me kind of anxious about the whole plan, this one little _stupid_ thing about the letter I hoped Riku would not pick up on. Although... He really _is_ the sharp type. As far as I know, there's no hiding from him, no lying to him. It's not like I'm going to lie about anything though, I just wanted to keep this thing from him until I found a good occasion to tell him. But even though he might not know or remember anything about what he has said to me, I still believe he's going to catch up on it. Because if it's Riku, then he will. But in the end.. it's past. I could just briefly explain the story to him and tell him it wasn't a big deal and that there's nothing to worry about. I bet he has a lot more important things to figure out and think about anyway.

So. Tonight, I'm gonna sneak over to his house and hand him this letter.

* * *

If I've ever felt time has gone by slowly, I'd have to say it feels like it had completely _stopped_ for the last few hours. At first, I had thought of going over to Riku's house during day, but I was sort of afraid he'd either ask whoever who answered the door to tell me he wasn't at home, or even worse, he'd drag me in and give me the harangue of the year. Well, I doubt that, but still. Besides, if he really truly didn't want to deal with me, he could just refuse to open the window to his room.

When it was about one in the morning, I silently made my way out of my room's window, clad in a pair of jeans (which – unfortunately, - were almost uncomfortably tight but also the only clean pants I had at the moment), a brown, long-sleeved shirt and a green scarf due to the chilly night air. In my pocket rested the letter that was, more or less, going to decide the future of the friendship between me and Riku. Or what in the world I should call this emotional mess between us. The closer I got to his house, the louder my heart was starting to beat. I gritted my teeth and briefly shut my eyes. I had to do this, and I was going to as well. The uncertainty was truly eating away at me, and I wasn't going to endure it for another day.

Once I arrived to the small backyard I could already see Riku's room. It was completely dark, but the curtains weren't closed. Maybe he had gone somewhere? Maybe he wasn't at home after all? That wouldn't seem very illogical, seeing it was Friday night and Riku really _was_ a popular guy. It wasn't before now I actually started to wonder how he had so much time to spend together with me. You'd think someone like him would hang with the cool guys in his age, going out partying and having fun and all that stuff.. But instead of that, he spent his valuable time doing just random nonsense with me. I felt some sort of weird warmth spreading through my body. He actually cared that much about me that he was ready to skip all those activities just to hang out with me?

This simple thought made me regain my courage and I promptly walked up to his window and gave it a gentle knock. What soon came visible on the other side of the window wasn't quite what I had expected. Riku, yes, but.. dripping wet, wearing nothing but a towel? And it's only a little past one in the morning? Who takes a shower in the middle of the night??

I quickly looked down at my shoes when Riku tilted the window open, in a vain attempt to hid my scorching red blush. Not that it really mattered, I think, I can't even count the times Riku has caught me all red-cheeked and eye-contact avoiding and flushed and whatnot.

"..Sora?" He asked in a low tone, looking sort of confused. Well okay, it's not everyday someone comes over to your house one in the morning...

"Um! I just.. I wanted you to read this letter because.. you know.." I started to ramble and feverishly dug for the piece of paper in my pocket before I shoved it into his face. "Here!"

"What's this? A love letter?" Riku asked with mock amusement, but I could see a small smirk already gracing his pale lips.

Thank heavens. He didn't seem that angry with me after all. Phew! I was so scared, nothing has ev-

"..What?!" I squeaked, maybe a bit too loud and rocked slightly backwards. _What is he thinking?!_ "It's n-not a love letter, jerk!" I complained and hugged my chest tightly. Honestly, it was really _surprisingly_ cold outside at night.

Riku eyed the letter for a while, but I guess my clattering teeth made it hard to just stand there and read it.

"You wanna come in? It's rather cold to just stand there, I believe." He offered with a dazzling smile, and suddenly, I felt warm again. But on the other hand, I wouldn't mind being inside either, seeing I wouldn't stay warm out here for long..

"Uh yeah, but.. It's sort of.. too high up? I can't jump onto your window frame.." I mumbled and looked questioningly at him as I placed my hands on the frame. The wall between reached all the way up to my chin.

"Shortie." Was all I got for an answer before I felt a pair of hands reach out and grab my sides and pull me up as if I weighed nothing more than a stuffed teddy bear. I yelped due to the sudden change of events, but before I could say any more I was already sitting safely at the window frame.

Is Riku really that strong or am I just too lightweight?

"There you go." He hummed and sat down on his bed with the letter in his hand. Before he had time to start reading in I figured I probably had to explain a few things about it first, so I took a seat next to him on the bed.

"Before you read it, you might want to hear me out." I said, swinging my legs back and forth and fiddling with my shirt. Riku nodded and angled a bit so he was facing me properly.

"I forgot to tell you about these.. but.. we used to communicate through letters before as well. Back in Traverse town, I mean. Mainly because I wanted to hide the truth from my parents and make them think I had became 'sane' again, so talking out loud with you was sort of.. out of question." I spoke, trying to keep my voice low to not awaken any other inhabitants of the house. "So.. The stuff written in black ink is yours, and the rest written in blue is mine."

"Ehm.. Sora? I can't have written this. I've been home, here at Destiny islands all the while you lived in Traverse Town." Riku said and shook his head in disbelief as he looked down on the letter in his hands. "I admit, the handwriting looks exactly like mine, but I tell you. I can't have written this."

"But I gave you permission to use my body..! Err, don't get me wrong, I mean, just so that you could write those letters!" I squeaked, shaking my hands defensively in the air. Great, I'm acting so nervous again.. "Just read it!" I requested lastly, and Riku obediently did as I had asked him to.

I was playing with my shirt's hem all the time, heart pounding at least a hundred times a minute and my gaze was sternly locked at the floor beneath us. When I finally dared to take a peek at Riku, I found a _very_ concerned expression gracing his face. _Uh oh_.. He.. He _had_ picked upon that sentence, hadn't he?

* * *

_R_

_I know it's hard for you, Sora. I know you're afraid, but there's no need to be. Do as I say, and they won't trouble you. Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me? Nope, I don't think so. If you ever need help, remember I'm here for you, always. Those people don't know what they're talking about, but that's what 'them' are like. Yes. Stupid. We both know that, only you are refusing to believe it. But trust me, okay, Sora? I would never let you down. Even if you don't want to act tough and strong, I want you to feel like you're worth something. Because you really, really are. I'm completely amazed how you can be so kind towards such rude people, but I also like that about you a lot. Or scratch that, you know I like everything about you. I really wish we could go back to those times when we could sit and chat for hours.. but I do understand your case. I don't want them to feed you with some medicine you do definitely not need to eat. Please, don't let your feelings become unheard. That way you might lose the whole ability to feel. It really is possible, and there's no turning back. After something like that you wont ever be able to experience things the same way other people do. And there is something I want to show you once we meet for real.._

_I promise you. Soon there will be good times ahead. Just for now, trust me. And remember, it's only human to yearn for love. And you know I love you more than anything. And not just plain love, but also everything else._

_-Riku-_

_S_

_I know Riku. I'm sorry that I'm such a scaredy-cat, and I really don't feel like I'm giving you the gratitude you deserve.. I'm just really afraid of losing you. I never want to lose you, I couldn't bear that. I sort of.. wish I could see you, feel you and hug you.. Heh, you know, I'm just a hopelessly affectionate person. I hope you don't mind! And I promise you I will do my best to obey everything you say. 'Cause really, if you aren't a god, then such a thing as gods don't exist. Anyway, sadly I've got little time because schoolwork awaits.. but.. don't think I don't want to spend time with you! If I could choose, I'd do nothing but chat with you! ..Because you know, I wouldn't even be here without you and you wouldn't be here without me.. ah, anyway! I love you a lot too, and good night my white knight! Hehe._

_-Sora-_

* * *

_(Sora's p.o.v.)_

"Okay.. this whole thing is so _damn _confusing and I could make a million of questions about this letter and not even that would be enough, but.." Riku spoke, his voice awfully stern and he kept his gaze locked on the letter in his hands.

I sucked in a deep breath because I knew what he was going to ask next.

"..So what exactly do you mean by '_I wouldn't be here without you_'?" He finished harshly and turned his beautiful aquamarine eyes, sparkling with something unknown, towards me.

"I... don't remember?" I offered lamely, suddenly regretting I had brought the whole cursed letter with me. I couldn't talk about it. I had thought this through so many times at home I thought I was completely prepared for this; but now, here in reality, I just couldn't say it.

But it didn't really matter. Riku sees through everything. He'd know I lied.

"Sora, I am getting the feeling this thing is concerning your damn _life_, and I'm onehundredandtwenty sure you did _not_ just _forget_!" He gritted out and grabbed my shoulders painfully hard, eyes looking straight into mine with that look of.. panic, was it?

However, I couldn't help that happy grin suddenly spreading across my face. There was no doubts about it anymore; he _was_ my Riku, because someone else just wouldn't know no matter how many times they'd read the sentence. I felt as if I could burst into tears from being so happy, because he knew, he _knew_.

"What the hell are you smiling for?! I asked you a serious question and you're just – god damn it – you're not even denying it!" Riku whined and gave a brisk shook to my shoulders as if to coax out an answer from me. I got the feeling he woke up someone by being so loud.

Then, when he realized I really wouldn't deny what he suspected, Riku slumped down completely. It was like, in a matter of seconds, all energy and all life had been drained out of him. He just sat there, motionless, his limp hands barely resting on my shoulders until they fell down to his sides and his gaze was totally empty.

"..You really did.. try.." Riku concurred in an almost inaudible whisper, and I finally realized I should probably do something else but just sitting there, grinning like an idiot.

Actually, my brain had been preoccupied with so many other things and problems, I hadn't really realized before now what kind of effect this could have on Riku. Because now that I looked up at him, even his stunning looks and his cocky attitude seemed like they never had been compared to just that _look _on his face.

"Uum! Riku, i-it's past you know! It's nothing to worry about! Really, it wasn't a big deal, no one knew, so.. and besides! That wasn't the reason my I brought the letter, actually-"

I was completely silenced when I felt his strong arms loop around my back and force me tight against his unclothed chest. At first I was a bit too stunned to react, but soon I let my hands shakily make their way into Riku's, still a bit damp, hair.

"Sora, it might be past. But I know those thoughts _never_ go away. The farther you've gone, the easier you will fall into there again. How can you say it's _not a big deal_?" Riku whispered into my neck, and his hot breath was tickling my cold skin and making me shiver slightly. I shut my eyes tightly and fisted my hands into his hair, desperate to tell him there was no need for this when we were both here and completely fine.

After a moment of silence and just sitting there, hugging each other, I heard Riku snort and he quickly pulled away from the hug. His beautiful, silver bangs hung in his face so I wasn't really able to make out his expression, but I didn't really need to see more. The hand that reached out and wiped across his eyes once was enough to prove any suspicions.

He was _crying_. Of all the things I had expected to happen, I _never_ would have thought I'd see Riku _crying_. Not now, not ever.

"..Fuck it.." He mumbled and looked away for a bit, until he turned is glassy eyes to me. His intense gaze and the fact that he looked simply godlike in the faint moonlight made me gasp silently, and I felt completely captured by his whole appearance and being. All other things had always been so insignificant compared to Riku. I didn't care if I was to forget every last memory I had, I didn't care if the rest of humanity would die out, I just didn't care as long as there was Riku.

"Riku, I.." I started, but I was once again silenced my a thumb gently locating itself on my lips. Riku had his eyes already half lidded and he scooted just a bit closer before he removed his thumb and looked at me again.

"To hell with all those letters, Sora. It's not your fault if you don't understand what is a big deal and what's not. But I hope you believe me and you understand what I mean when I say that I love you." Riku whispered, and I could feel his lips ghost dangerously close to my skin, wandering down from my earlobe to my neck. God, it drives me crazy when he does that. I almost feel naughty for just simply wanting _more_. I relocated my hands into his hair and huffed out his name, hoping he would be done with the talking already. I was starting to feel hot and achy and it was as if I couldn't breathe without his hands and his lips all over me.

"..And not just that.." Riku breathed out, his tongue teasingly touching my neck as he spoke. I bit my lip hard and tried my best to stifle a loud moan, but failed miserably when Riku stuck his thigh between my legs to pin me on his bed, and placed a few wet kisses along my neck before he spoke again. "..I am _in_ love with you, and there's nothing I want but _you_." He finished in a slur until he finally placed those godly lips on mine.

I eagerly responded, tugging him closer to deepen the kiss, breathing heavily as I felt his cold, nimble fingers trace patterns underneath my shirt.

"Riku.." I whimpered and unintentionally squirmed slightly under his body when his skilled lips soon once again located themselves on my neck and his hands started to pull up my shirt. I had to bite my hand to not cry out his name again loudly, my mind was completely clouded and foggy and all I knew was that I had _never_ been this aroused and I had never wanted something this badly.

"Please.. R-riku.." I panted heavily and cupped his cheeks to pull him into another passionate kiss. I couldn't make any coherent sentences at this point, so I simply hoped he understood this was what I wanted too.

"Sora.." Riku mumbled into the kiss and pulled slightly away, much to my displeasure. "You do understand that.. we're making out when we should be discussing serious things?" He finished and slowly licked his smirking lips, and I was becoming awfully impatient with his constant talking.

Why was he only ever talkative at _wrong_ times?

"Do we have to talk _now_?" I whined breathlessly and shyly kissed his neck and tugged at his hair. Riku groaned something completely incoherent before he tilted his head slightly and captured my lips into a last, fierce kiss before he pulled away with that breathtaking smile of his.

"Yes. That's for ignoring me yesterday." He said with a self-righteous grin as he reached out a hand to ruffle my hair.

"Riku.." I whined, trying to fix my perviously abused hair. "You're not being fair at all.."

"What? I'm being perfectly fair, you know." Riku retorted with amusement in his voice, before he let out a muffled chuckle.

"No you're not!" I continued complaining, even though I was pretty sure he had already made up his mind. "Besides.. It's far past midnight so that makes it two days ago.." I added with a pout.

"Sure." He simply agreed and slumped down on the bed, lying on his side so he was facing me. "So.. wanna be my boyfriend?"

"How about.. yes?" I replied, unable to hide the happiness spreading through my body, resulting in wide grin. It was completely impossible to just lay there only watch him, and so, before there was time for any other words or actions, I threw myself around his neck and just hugged him tightly.

"I hope you do remember that you still have a lot of stuff to tell me.." Riku urged me and scooted back just an inch so that we were facing each other.

"Then.. How about I tell you something that will make up for all the stuff in the world you don't know?" I dared him and allowed my head to rest on his pillow. I didn't really have any intentions of going back home just yet anyway.

"And what would that be?" He asked laying down on the pillow too, although Igot the feeling he had a good idea about what I was going to say.

"I'm in love with you too, and I think I've been all the while."

* * *

A/N: Well duh, Sora..


End file.
